Michelle Runnels and her boyfriend, Jason Vaughn, own the dogs. They called the Kern County Sheriff's Office after the shooting, but deputies told them nothing could be done.

Runnels said Thursday that she let her dogs, Vanity and Clutch, out of the house on the morning of Sept. 21. That's when they escaped from the fenced-in backyard.

Clutch, a dog who was shot Sept. 21, is seen recovering in the veterinarian's office in this provided photo.

"Not even five minutes, 10 minutes later, my dog came back bleeding on the back end of her, so I could tell it was a gunshot," Runnels said.

Clutch was still missing, so Runnels and Vaughn went looking for the dog.

Some neighbors told the couple they had heard three gunshots come from a nearby home. The couple went over to that home and saw Clutch lying in a pool of blood with two broken legs.

The couple called 911, but the sheriff's deputy said there was no way to prove who shot the dogs or why they shot the dogs.

"It's the dog's word against the human's," Runnels recalled the deputy telling her.

Vanity is now home and recovering, but she's afraid to go outside, Runnels said. Clutch is still undergoing care at the veterinarian's office, where the couple has racked up $18,000 in medical bills.

"So people can get away with blowing dogs away? Shooting them? You know, just because they go into your yard?" Runnels asked in a frustrated tone.

Eyewitness News went to the home where the dogs were allegedly shot, but that family declined comment

Eyewitness News also called the sheriff's office, but Senior Deputy Michael Whorf gave the same answer the investigating deputy gave -- without proof, there was little the department could do.