WHITTIER, Kalifornia - May 17, 2010 - Pit bulls Sluggo and Pebbles slept in the bed with their owners, went trick-or-treating in costume and didn't bat an eyelid when their master's children rode them like ponies.

They were adopted as puppies from the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority, which doesn't have any record of incidents or complaints about the dogs, according to spokesman Captain Aaron Reyes.

On April 24, Sluggo and Pebbles escaped from the backyard of their new home on Nanry Street and ended up on Mystic Street. Norwalk Station Deputy Daren Jaramillo responding to a call about a white and brown pit bull chasing people up and down the street in this unincorporated county neighborhood used his service gun to shoot Sluggo in the chest. The brown-and-white pit bull later died.

Sheriff's officials said the dog attacked Jaramillo and that the two pit bulls later attacked two other deputies.

But their version is disputed by a resident on Mystic Street who saw the entire incident. The woman, who asked that her name not be used for fear of retaliation, said the two dogs weren't lunging or attacking and were running toward the only way out of a cul de sac.

"He panicked and he pulled his gun," she said, adding that the deputy later apologized.

"He said, ‘I'm sorry that had to happen. I'm a dog lover too.’ He said the dog was coming at him," she said.

She disagreed.

Marine Staff Sgt. Nicholas Marquez, who owns Pebbles, believes Sluggo was shot and killed simply for being a pit bull. Marquez was activated and came back from Iraq in 2009.

"Neither of these dogs was aggressive. It's unfortunate pit bulls have a bad name or rep," he said. He thinks it would have been a different outcome if the call was about two golden retrievers.

"I wish they would have handled the situation differently."

He said the deputy should have waited for animal control. He has no plans to sue but he wants an apology.

Sluggo was owned by Marquez's former girlfriend, Ashley Botts, and his father, retired Deputy David Marquez who worked at Norwalk Station. David Marquez died last month. Botts didn't want to split up the dogs when she moved to Washington state so she decided Sluggo would stay in Kalifornia.