Harley, a three-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, died afer being kicked. (Courtesy Doug Shields)

No charges will be laid against a Calgary police officer accused of kicking a dog to death in July.

Calgary police said Thursday that the Edmonton Crown prosecutor's office has reviewed the evidence, including a necropsy of the dog by a Saskatoon veterinary pathologist, who does not want to be named or speak to the media.

"No evidence was found to support a charge in this case," said Supt. Trevor Daroux, of the Calgary Police Service, Thursday.

"The officer's account of the entire situation was corroborated by not only independent witnesses, but also the necropsy as well," he said.

The reason for the dog's death remains undetermined, Daroux said. The dog had a mild hemorrhage, but the report said that in no way contributed to its death, and there were only mild lesions due to trauma, he said.

The police officer — who was off duty at the time of the incident — said he kicked the dog once to stop what he believed was an attack on his own pet.

"He is an animal lover as well and is deeply upset by this situation and the loss of another family's dog," Daroux said of the officer.

Labrador ran away

In July flowers were left in front of the Calgary house where Harley, a Labrador retriever, lived. (CBC)Doug Shields and Melanie Dunne said they were working in their yard in the southeast neighbourhood of Lake Bonavista with their dog, Harley, by their side.

At the time, Shields told CBC News that when they took Harley's leash off to let him into the house, he saw another dog and darted across Lake Waterton Way S.E. The three-year-old yellow Labrador retriever rounded the corner where a man was walking his dog.

"I watched as the two dogs reached each other and they stopped and they were sniffing each other," Shields said.

When Shields looked down to step off the curb, he said he heard his dog make a noise.

"The next thing I heard was a yelp. As I looked up, Harley was in distress and he fell into the gutter and within seconds, 30 seconds at most, he was dead."

Later that week, an off-duty officer, who works in community policing, came forward and said he was trying to protect his pet from an attack by the other dog.