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LOS ANGELES -- The majority of shootings in most U.S. police departments involve animals, usually dogs, and experts say a new series of videos can help change often quick-trigger decisions fueled by fear. "There will be times when police need to defend themselves because they are being attacked by a dog and don't have a choice, but that is the minority of cases," said Brian Kilcommons, a Southbury, Conn., dog behaviorist and trainer. He is featured in the five-part series that teaches officers to detect the warning signs of an aggressive dog and how to avoid using lethal force. Efforts...

An officer believed they were acting in an aggressive manner," said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a St. Paul police spokesman. "He thought he'd be bit or the dogs would bite one of the team members." Perry and her fiance, Larry L. Arman, said the dogs had been sleeping by the front door and did nothing more than bark when police used a ram to break down the door of their home to execute a search warrant. The warrant wasn't publicly available in court as of Thursday. Perry and Arman said it indicated police were looking for marijuana, drug packaging, weighing equipment,...

The Secret Service has started deploying specialized canine units to help protect the area around the White House grounds, where tourists flock day and night to catch a glimpse of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Although the Secret Service has used police dogs since 1976 to screen areas for presidential visits, this is the first time they’re being broadly deployed among the general public.(emphasis added)

In Luhansk stray dogs Zsuzsa thrice saved the life of an officer Last night checkpoint "Dovzhansky" was again shelled. Unfortunately, this time 5 guards injured, 2 of them - serious, but losses could be much higher if not for the local dog Zsuzsa. When the guards entered the checkpoint, Zsuzsa immediately appeared. On which side of the border it came - no one knows, but poor dog, as the man sought attention and food. Border guards immediately took it to the team. Jujuy is well fed and one of the officers adopted it. Ïåñåí pryzvychayilosya [not sure believe it means...

A rash of animal shootings by police officers nationwide has law-enforcement agencies running for cover amid growing public outrage that could force state legislatures to require greater accountability from men and women in uniform. Police in Utah shot a family’s dog while searching for a lost boy, prompting hundreds of pet owners to protest June 28 in front of the Salt Lake City Police Department headquarters. They carried signs demanding “justice for Geist,” a 110-pound Weimaraner shot by a city cop within the dog’s fenced-in back yard. The “missing” boy was later found sleeping in his home. State police in...

This is simply beyond anything I could have imagined. I mean, I’ve seen plenty of dog / baby pal couples, so I am well aware how well they understand each other. But This?! That’s too much.

An Arlington Police officer’s act of kindness towards a pit bull is going viral. Sergeant Gary Carter went out on a call from some people worried about a vicious dog, but when he arrived, he realized it was the dog that needed help. Arlington Police Sergeant Gary Carter has always been a big fan of dogs – which is why he now has a lot of fans himself. “I’m still kind of speechless on how this has turned out,” said Carter. “I never expected this at all.” On Thursday, he and another officer went out to the 400 block of...

"My name is Solstice and I am 7 days and three hours pain free." Solstice was a Majestic German Shepherd. He was mellow and just loved every one and every creature except for chickens. They scared the life out of him. I'd try to console him by telling him he ate their unborn chicks. He'd roll his eyes at me. Solstice loved to talk. He was always whining. I never stopped him from doing that because I knew that one day he will stop and I will miss hearing his voice. He loved his planet dog tennis ball. He was...

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A Richland County Sheriff's Department K-9 attacked a dog on Wednesday. According to Sheriff Leon Lott, the incident happened on Emsworth Drive when the K-9 jumped a fence and attacked a neighbor's dog.

Fenced backyard » Dog killed on its home ground, questions arise over why nonlethal response wasn’t used first.The Salt Lake City Police Department is trying to get ahead of public outrage over an officer’s shooting of an alleged aggressive dog in its fenced backyard during a neighborhood search for a child later found asleep in his own basement. The 3-year-old boy, described as non-verbal and unresponsive to his name being called, was reported missing by his parents from his home near 2500 South and Fillmore Street (1400 East) about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. A door-to-door neighborhood search ensued. The child was...

The mayor of San Marino has stepped down after he was captured on surveillance video tossing a bag of dog waste onto his neighbor’s walkway earlier this month. Dennis Kneier announced his immediate resignation Tuesday in a letter to the city and the City Council. “As is well known, early in the evening of Saturday, June 7, I had a lapse of judgment and discarded dog waste on a neighbor’s walkway,” Kneier wrote. “It was insensitive, disrespectful and wrong. I have apologized to my neighbor for my action, and I will pay a fine for littering. I can understand why...

MILWAUKEE -- Jane Flint was at work when a friend called and warned her that Milwaukee police were about to search her home for endangered reptiles. She rushed home to keep her four boisterous dogs from interfering with police, but before she arrived, officers shot and killed two of the Tibetan mastiffs. She has never been told why. Milwaukee police shoot and kill dozens of dogs each year, often saying the animals appeared to be a threat to officers or to the public. But in response to criticism and two lawsuits, police have been able to reduce that number with...

No dog meat sold at Fujairah restaurant: officials Municipality vows to prosecute those behind the social network rumoursFujairah authorities have denied rumours floated on social networks that a local restaurant sold dog meat meals to consumers and other restaurants and vowed to prosecute those who are behind the report. Fujairah municipality Director Mohammed Al Afkham said the restaurant shown in the report is located in another country and that it is intended to hurt the UAE’s image. Quoted by local newspapers, he said the UAE carries out strict health standards when it comes to food imports and that all restaurants...

It's a tale of two dogs. One, a puggle lounges peacefully on his owner’s lap. The other, a border collie, bounds freely across a grassy knoll. Although the love between man and dog is indeed powerful, you might wonder whether the active, outdoors pup is enjoying a more enriching existence than his indoors counterpart. By keeping dogs as inside companions, are we asking them to lead less satisfying lives?

Breeders were shocked: ‘I couldn't believe it when I first saw them,’ said Aida Vallelado Molina, who raises dogs with her dad.A pair of Spanish dog breeders was shocked recently when two puppies were born green. "I couldn't believe it when I first saw them," said owner Aida Vallelado Molina, 27. She added: "I thought the puppies were maybe dirty somehow, and I tried to clean them, but the color wouldn't come off and then I realized it was the color of their fur." Aida Vallelado Molina says at first she thought the puppies were dirty somehow.Aida Vallelado Molina says...

A Texas couple has adopted a bomb-sniffing dog that was with their son when he was killed in Afghanistan. The parents of Staff Sgt. Christopher Diaz adopted Dino Saturday, after the 6-year-old Belgian malinois was declared retired in a ceremony at Camp Pendleton. Law permits such an adoption if it will help a family with the grieving process. Dino had to pass a test to ensure he didn't suffer the canine equivalent of post-traumatic stress disorder after his combat experience. Rich Landgrebe, operations manager for the Marine working-dog program, said the test showed Dino has the right temperament to be...

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is in “good enough physical condition to allow him to return to the United States,” but he’s “not ready psychologically or emotionally,” U.S. officials confirmed to NBC News on Sunday. For now, Bergdahl will remain at the U.S. military hospital at Landstuhl Germany for treatment. Although he’s been permitted to talk to his parents, Bergdahl has so far chosen not to call his family in Idaho, the officials said. No specific reason for Bergdahl’s mindstate were given except that he continues treatment for psychological and emotional problems as a result of his five years in captivity.

A pair of pro-life activists heard an abortion clinic worker make a startling statement as documented in a 2014 book called Stories from the Frontlines: the Battle against Abortion . Pastor Warren Fox was sidewalk counseling or demonstrating outside an abortion clinic with the book’s author, Judy Madsen Johnson, when one of the clinic workers walked by. Pastor Fox describes: Once, as I stood beside Judy on the sidewalk in front of a killing center, she spoke to an abortion worker arriving for the day. Leaving her car, the worker made her way toward the entrance of the clinic. As...

SNIP U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Mark Bush, a MWD handler, gets a big kiss from Xarius on June 3, at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia. Bush is deployed from the 28th Security Forces Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Perrette is offering $5,000 to anyone who will help find her friend Arthur Renowitzky's service dog. "Love," an apricot-colored poodle, disappeared during an outing at the San Leandro Marina Wednesday night. NCIS star Pauley Perrette is on a mission to find "Love." The tiny apricot-colored toy poodle disappeared Wednesday night during an outing at the San Leandro Marina. Now Perrette is offering $5,000 to anyone who will help find her friend Arthur Renowitzky's service dog. A civil rights activist and motivational speaker, Renowitzky runs the non-profit Life Goes On Foundation. Six years ago, Renowitzky was the victim of an armed...