Man Shot To Death Trying To Stop Abuser Choking Yorkshire Puppy, Grieving Fiancee Plans To Adopt Injured Puppy

A Tennessee man was reportedly shot to death after he tried to stop another man from beating a puppy outside of a hotel room.

The shooting took place in the town of Smyrna, where police say 37-year-old Robert Wilson tried to intervene when he saw a man abusing a Yorkshire Terrier puppy outside his hotel room. As the Daily News Journal reported, the victim and his fiancée had just moved back to the area and were staying at an extended stay hotel while they looked for an apartment. Sue Hoskins, the victim’s fiancée, said she got a call from Robert saying there was a man holding a puppy by the throat outside the hotel.

Wilson went to confront the man, but the situation escalated too quickly, Hoskins said.

“I dropped my phone and went running out there to see Rob saying, ‘why are you doing that,'” she said, “and the guy said it was his puppy and he just shot him.”

Hoskins said she and another person tried to stop the bleeding from the gunshot wound to the chest. Robert Wilson was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

Police issued a warrant for the arrest of 35-year-old Donavous Jerome Drennon, who was last seen driving away from the scene of the shooting. Police had initially asked the public for any information about Drennon while warning that he was considered armed and dangerous, but the Daily News Journal reported that he turned himself in to police days after the fatal shooting. He was charged with criminal homicide, and it was unclear whether he was given bail.

Family members said Wilson loved animals for his entire life, as had the rest of his family. Robert’s father said that when his mother died, she had a picture of a dog on her gravestone, and Robert will too.

Robert Wilson was killed trying to protect a puppy from abuse. There's a GoFundMe set up to help pay his funeral costs, and for his fiancee: https://t.co/NpGFfiVBaChttps://t.co/hm1Pu0kueo

— Arin Greenwood (@arin_twit) July 31, 2018

Family and friends have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for Robert Wilson’s funeral, which has already raised more than $2,000. The story garnered national attention this week, with many commending Robert Wilson for trying to defend the animal.

“I am a lifelong Yorkie mama,” one GoFundMe donor wrote. “My baby is my whole, wide world. What Rob did was the right thing, and it was incredible. I’m certain his spirit is in heaven.”

Hoskins also said she would like to adopt the Yorkshire Terrier puppy once it is released from the vet.