A man was walking his black Labrador when the dog ran off and was found with a mark below its right eye, first believed to be a gunshot wound.
A dog has been found dead with a cut to its head while walking in Central Park with its owner - who initially told cops the pup had been shot.
David Burke, 55, was walking his dog, Duke, a 4-year-old black Labrador-Great Dane mix, off-leash just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday when the pooch ran off near the northwest corner of the park and West 110th Street, officials and a police source said.
Burke heard his pup yelp and saw him roll down a hill, and when reached the dog, he was laying down and had a mark below its right eye, a police source said.
Burke owner first believed Duke had been shot, but the dog's injury was inconsistent with a gunshot wound, the source said. He told police he did not hear any shots or see anyone suspicious in the park, the source said.
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No evidence pointing to a gun firing was collected, but investigators were looking to surveillance footage of the incident, the police source said.
The distraught owner was unable to speak about his loss, telling INSIDE EDITION, "I really just can't right now."
The dog was taken to the ASCPA, where it will undergo a necropsy to determine cause of death, police said.
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