“Cops have always been killing dogs, cats, ground hogs, possums, etc. it’s not a new thing.”
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Killing animals is not my main point, even though I never saw police shoot a domestic animal.
Even in small towns, they are not at all as they were in the past.
I was in the radio communications business.
I worked with many rural and small town police and sheriff’s departments.
I saw a considerable change over a 25 year period.
It was most noticeable in smaller town bedroom communities
that were fast growing and hiring many young new bucks who wanted to show their power.
Where I work we have a problem with pit bulls. Thugs get them, breed them, fight them, train them to be aggressive and then, when they don’t want them anymore they simply let them run wild. I once saw a guy walking his pit bull down the street and he had tied a cinder block around it’s neck.
You get the picture.
I’ve seen these same pit bulls rip people’s flesh to shreds. Kids faces so torn up they had to be life flighted to major hospitals.
I’ve also seen some of our “dog whisperer” police officers get bit. A rottweiler bit one of our guys on the forearm and broke his arm. A rookie that I recently trained tried to latch on to a loose pit bull and it bit him in the thigh.
I’ve seen charging pit bulls get shot in the head with .45’s back off and charge again. I shot a pit bull with 00 buck directly in the side. It rolled over and got back up and came at me again. This was after it had killed another dog.
I also work in a city that laid off the dog catcher claiming they didn’t have the money to pay him while they gave the mayor and is cronies raises.
So, no dog catcher, guess who the city sends to catch the dogs? AND because of union restraints, they wouldn’t even let us use the dog catchers equipment.
While I’m ranting, pepper spray doesn’t always work. Not on humans and not on dogs. I once had to run from 2 rottweilers owned by a drug dealer. I pulled the pepper spray and got both of them in the face. Lucky for me I was also able to pull a door shut behind me because it didn’t slow them down in the least. Pepper spray is just about worthless. In fact, when you spray it you get the effects just as bad as the target your spraying. I don’t even carry it anymore. Junk.
I don’t know how many times I’ve showed up at people’s houses (who have called the police) and don’t want to put their dogs away. “Oh, he doesn’t bite.” Sure. Next thing ya know the dog is on you like a bad rash. A few times I’ve had scratches from teeth that didn’t break the skin. The bottom of my shoe has been latched onto on more than one occasion as well.
Recently I had to shoot a deer that got hit by a car. I waited until no traffic was coming because I didn’t want anybody to be subject to seeing it, knowing the sensitivities.
I used a 12 gauge slug and hit the deer square. I figured that would end it quick, it usually does. The deer jumped straight up and looked like it might jump into the road so I hit it again with buckshot. Well, some woman, in a car that I didn’t even see, saw me shoot the deer the second time. She called and made a complaint.
Are there cops who shoot dogs they shouldn’t? Yep. I’m not going to try and defend or deny that. Do a lot of cops get smeared in the paper when they shoot a dog? Yep, I’ve seen that happen. Do people call the police for dog problems? Yes. Do cities put cops in a bad situation by not hiring dog catchers?
Do I get paid enough to get bit by feral pit bulls or other dogs? Not in my mind. If that makes me some kind of a thug or wuss, so be it. My conscience is clear.
And to those who think they can come and do the job better than me, we’re hiring.