2 gunmen kill dog in Bx. attack

Gun violence claimed the life of an innocent Yorkshire terrier in the Bronx Sunday night when two armed men blasted bullets through an apartment door, killing the tiny pooch.

Hercules, a 7-year-old Yorkie, had been taken to a seventh-floor apartment in the Adams Houses in Melrose. His owner hoped Hercules (photo) would breed with Krystal, another Yorkie who lives there.

The shooters came calling at about 8 p.m., cops said.

“They knocked on the door, and I looked through the peephole and I see two guys,” said Samuel Pesante, 54, a home improvement worker who lives in the apartment on Westchester Ave. near Tinton Ave., with his wife, their 8-year-old daughter, Samara, and Krystal.

“They acted like they were friendly, but they were just playing you,” Samara told her dad.

Then one of the men pulled out a gun and started shooting. Pesante slammed the door on the gunman’s hand. His wife, Elaeie Pesante, ran to help, and jabbed the shooter with an electric drill.

The bullets punched holes through the door, an entryway wall, and a blanket on a couch. The rounds missed the Pesantes and Krystal.

Hercules did not share their luck. “They were aiming the gun, and they shot Hercules right by the Christmas tree,” said a heartbroken Samara.

“Hercules was just laying on the floor by the tree,” Samara said. “And my mom pulled him out and we saw he had a hole in his side, in his stomach. I was scared, I was crying.”

Police took the dog to an Animal Care Centers of NYC facility, but it couldn’t be saved.