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Mississauaga firefighter’s beloved dog shot and killed

Riot, a Dutch shepherd owned by Mississauga firefighter Matt Bell and his girlfriend, Chelsea Smith, was shot and killed at the couple's Collingwood-area home.
Riot, a Dutch shepherd owned by Mississauga firefighter Matt Bell and his girlfriend, Chelsea Smith, was shot and killed at the couple's Collingwood-area home. Photo by Supplied photo /Toronto Sun

Mississauga firefighter Matt Bell was at his Collingwood-area home last week when he heard the sound of a gunshot and then the screams of his girlfriend, Chelsea Smith. 

The couple’s dog, Riot, had just been shot by someone nearby, who allegedly mistook the dog for a coyote. 

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“You never expect something like this to happen,” said Bell, 32, who lives in Nottawa — five kilometres south of Collingwood — on Wednesday. 

“My girlfriend is absolutely destroyed. I’m at a loss for words and trying to keep my composure, but I’m feeling every emotion. What happened is just not right.”

What followed was a nightmare of many hours while Bell and Smith tried to save their dog.

They raced the animal by car to a nearby vet clinic — run by Bell’s father, Jim. A team of vets worked on Riot for more than two hours, and then it was decided that the dog needed to go to a clinic in Toronto.

Bell and Smith drove more than two hours to get Riot there.

The three-year-old brindle Dutch shepherd was worked on by vets in Toronto for hours, but at 3.30 a.m., the dog died.

Their final bill was more than $5,000, but they would gladly have paid whatever it cost to save Riot.

OPP acting-sergeant Robert Simpson said both the OPP and the Ministry of Natural Resources had received calls about the incident. Simpson said he did not have any other information about the case, but added a press release about the incident will go out Friday.

The dog suffered horribly in his final hours, said Bell.

“I see the worst things people can see in life as a firefighter, but this will haunt me for the rest of my life.

“Riot was my best friend, my shadow. He was our baby. We want word to get out there that this guy needs to be held accountable.”

According to Bell, the person who shot Riot knows Bell’s dogs and his property.

“We don’t feel safe on our own property any more,” he said.

Bell had called police after the incident. He was surprised that he didn’t hear back until the next day, “which is shocking, as my girlfriend was nearly shot in her own backyard.”