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Derby restaurant stepping up for German Shepherd that was shot

RiverWalk Social in Derby will donate 20% of all sales Thursday to defray the dog's mounting medical expenses.

DERBY, Conn — The couple arrested for allegedly shooting their dog in a Derby park early Friday morning remains behind bars Wednesday as police continue to investigate what led them to shoot the German Shepherd, who had a leg amputated as a result of the shooting.

A Derby business is stepping up with a fundraiser.

RELATED: German Shepherd found shot in Derby; owners arrested

A handsome, perhaps 2-year-old German Shepherd, named "Thunda," continues to recover at an animal hospital in Shelton, after having his front left leg amputated in emergency surgery after allegedly being shot by one of his owners, Anthony Singletary, early Friday morning.

"When you heard something like this it definitely struck us and we wanted to do something to help," said Eric Heinig, the general manager for RiverWalk Social in Derby, which will donate 20% of all sales Thursday to defray the dog's mounting medical expenses.

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Police said both 27-year-old Singletary and 28-year-old Stranja Perrin remain in jail and that it was Perrin who called the police at 2 a.m. Friday to say the couple had just found an injured dog in Coon Hollow Park in Derby.

"Anyone who's ever lost a dog, they are just as important to us as humans," said Anthony Mastroni, a managing partner for RiverWalk Social Bar & Restaurant. "My father who is the primary owner here is you know he's a softy for things like that as well. He was heartbroken when he heard the story."

The accused couple, who had been living in their car with the female suspect's two young children, still claim, according to police, that "Thunda" is simply a dog they found.

RELATED: WILD VIDEO: Body camera footage shows Brookfield woman slamming Hummer in to police cruiser during chase

But police recovered 10 shell casings in the park and said those bullets came from a gun legally owned by the woman. 

"There were other ways to handle this, whether it was you know bringing it to a shelter or somebody would've easily taken this poor dog you know off their hands," Mastroni said. 

If you can't make it to RiverWalk Social Thursday, there is a GoFundMe page that has already raised over $16,000 for Thunda's medical expenses.

Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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