NORTH AURORA - A North Aurora couple was held at gunpoint in their home and their dog was shot during a home invasion and burglary Friday afternoon.

According to information released by North Aurora Police, the couple was in their home, a duplex in the 200 block of Laurel Drive, at about 1:20 p.m. Friday when they heard a knock on the door.

Before the residents could open the door, it was kicked in by two men, who then entered the home and displayed a firearm, police said.

One of the men then held the residents at gunpoint, while the other man went upstairs.

At that time, the residents' dog, believed by police to be a kind of bulldog, approached the man with the gun, and the man shot the dog three times, police said.

At some point following the shooting, police said the second man came back downstairs carrying a safe.

The two men then fled the house through the front door.

North Aurora Police Deputy Chief Scott Buziecki said the men were in the home for "just a few minutes."

He said he did not know what was in the safe that had been taken, nor why the men targeted that particular residence.

Police said the residents transported the dog to a veterinarian for treatment. As of 4 p.m. Friday, police could not update the dog's condition.

The suspects were described as black males, each in their 20s.

The man believed to have held the residents at gunpoint and believed to have shot the dog was described as having a dark complexion with shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants.

The man who went upstairs and took the safe was described as having a light complexion and short black hair, also wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.

North Aurora Police ask anyone with information about this incident to contact police detectives at 630-897-8705. Tips can be left anonymously by choosing option No. 3 from the voicemail menu at that number.