Any time one human shoots another in this country and kills that person, it is a homicide. The question is if the shooting is murder, manslaughter, some other charege or self-defense.
I quite agree. However, many police departments now have an unofficial policy of killing dogs, in that the most it will cost the department is $300, while in insures that the officer is “dominant” in the situation, and is a form of “pre-punishment” against those who may not be otherwise arrested.
That it is emotionally devastating to many people is not a big concern. This attitude has become so widespread that people are starting to push back, to force the police by policy to not just casually kill dogs.
There is a big problem, however, with people who hold their dog in such affection that for it to be killed incites them to homicide, which can get them sent to prison for many years. So it is important to remember that, no matter how much you love your dog, it is just a dog.