Posted on 07/23/2015 8:48:21 AM PDT by Altariel
CALAIS, Maine — Calais officials say an officer who shot a dog Sunday night acted properly.
Calais Police Chief David Randall said the department received a call at approximately 9:59 p.m. July 19 about two dogs that tried to attack a third dog at a home on South Street.
People at the residence got their animal inside, then attempted to get the other two dogs out of their yard, according to the police chief.
“The dogs attempted to bite them,” Randall said.
When the officer located the dogs and tried to get them into the police car, one of the dogs growled and charged, and the officer shot it, the police chief said.
The dogs, he said, belong to Nick and Hillary Barnett, who live on a neighboring street.
Hillary Barnett said Tuesday that the family’s two Labrador retrievers, Brady and Sadie, had gotten out of the house and run off at about 8 p.m. Sunday, but no one worried because they “always come back.”
At about 9 p.m., her husband went looking for them but was unsuccessful in finding the dogs.
At about 10 p.m., she and her husband were in bed watching TV when she heard gun shots. She got up, went out to investigate and found a police officer and border patrol car pulled over. After she described her dogs, the border patrol officer summoned the police officer, who told her he had shot the yellow lab.
“Brady wouldn’t bite anyone and never has. He was protecting our chocolate lab,” she wrote on her Facebook page. “This could’ve been handled the right way. My dog didn’t deserve to be shot.”
“Obviously, it’s a horrific, terrible event that happened,” Randall said Tuesday. “I can’t even imagine what this family is going through.”
However, he said, the officer followed protocols.
Animal control officer David Townsend said he was not working that night, and in his absence police handle animal complaints.
City Manager Jim Porter said Nick Barnett did discuss the matter with him. Barnett felt the action taken by the officer “was unnecessary, but he was not present when the incident happened,” Porter said. “I listened to his concerns.”
Porter said he read the officer’s report and believes the officer was “justified.”
No further action will be taken, the city manager said.
Personal responsibility means not letting your animals bother your neighbors when they get out, but getting up off the couch and going after your dogs. Also, it means training your dogs so that if they *do* get out, you give them a recall command so that they return.
the cop was following procedures. the procedures are WRONG.
i was attacked by a rottweiler a couple of years ago. the dog got loose from it’s little old lady owner who was walking it, came running at me full speed while barking loudly and aggressively. my first instinct was to run for cover, but there was none nearby. so i held my ground, stared at the dog as he approached, pointed my finger, and yelled “NO” in the tone of a dog owner disciplining a dog. this confused him enough to come to a stop a few feet away from me and glare/growl at me. after what felt like 30 seconds, that little old lady came and collected her dog. it wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience for me, but i wasn’t bitten and the dog didn’t die.
i suspect none of these cops ever even try such tactics. they have guns so they immediately go for the gun to shoot the dog in all circumstances. that’s wrong. very very wrong.
the police procedures being followed have to be changed and those responsible for writing them need to be fired.
I agrre that the dog should not have been shot, however these dog owners are the sort giving the rest of us a bad name.
“my first instinct was to run for cover,”
As a Dog Person, I can tell you definitively that running from a dog is the best way to encourage an attack. Dogs are prey animals and if you run they think you are prey. Don’t ever run from them. Fall down and ball up, cover your face with your arms for protection, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER run from a dog.
yes, i know that. that’s why i said “first instinct”. if you’re ever attacked, it’ll be your first instinct too. the desire to put something between you and the dog.
you should never go on the ground during a dog attack either. that’s common sense. falling to the ground and balling up would result in more severe injuries to yourself. stay on your feet. keep your face and neck protected.
I agree, that was a last resort case. Your response was the best, to offer a loud, defensive, large profile to the dog. I hear that works for bears, too. ;-)
Amen!!
There are also ways to physically stop a charging dog besides shooting it.
That cop was already scared walking into the situation.
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