Officers shoot, kill two dogs (Tacoma)

Two Tacoma police officers shot and killed two dogs Wednesday morning on the East Side. Both officers were bitten in the incident and taken to a local hospital for treatment, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The officers were leaving a call when they spotted two pit bulls attacking another dog in an alley near East 62nd Street and East McKinley Avenue shortly after 10 a.m. A woman had been walking the third dog, described as resembling a German shepherd, when the pit bulls, which had been running free, attacked, Fulghum said.

The officers pulled over and tried to stopped the attack. One of the officers used a Taser on the male pit bull but the stun gun had no effect, Fulghum said.

The pit bull continued his attack and turned toward the officers. When he approached, one of the officers shot and killed the dog.

The officers then went to help the woman and her dog when that dog attacked and bit the two officers. The officers tried to stun the dog with a Taser, Fulghum said.

Update Jan.25/07

TACOMA - A walk with her dog turned into a brush with terror for a Tacoma woman when two roaming pit bulls attacked her dog.
When police stepped into help, they say they were forced to fire their weapons and two dogs, including the woman's, died.
"It's a bad thing," says Tacoma Animal Control Officer Joe Hunt. "It's a bad thing all the way around."
It started with a simple morning walk. The owner of a Labrador mix was walking her dog on a leash. Police say two pit bulls attacked her dog.
Two officers were nearby and happened to see the attack. "Officers tried to help," says Tacoma Police Officer Mark Fulghum, "they Tazed one of the pit bulls, really had no effect on the dog." The other dog, a female pit bull named Dixie, ran off only to be captured later by animal control.
But the big, unneutered male stayed to fight.
"The dog turned, came back at the officers, bit one of the officers," Fulghum adds, "at that point the officers shot the dog."
When police tried to control the Labrador mix, police say it too went after them and bit both officers. Again, they say they had no choice but to shoot.
Animal Control Officer Hunt explains, "then you have police officers trying to help these guys and the Labrador's confused and doesn't know what's going on and it just wants to get out of the situation so it has to fend for itself."
Tacoma Police say they haven't had problems with pit bulls or any other breeds recently. But Animal Control adds unleashed dogs are an on-going problem.
"It all could have been prevented if the particular owner was diligent about making sure their dogs were contained," says Officer Eric O'Donnell. Animal Control says both pit bulls are licensed and it looks like the female may be pregnant. But they haven't been able to track the owner yet to figure out how or why the dogs got loose.
Police Officers Joe Mettler and Bert Hayes were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. There they received stitches; both officers had bites on their legs, one was also bitten on the hand.
Animal Control is investigating and may classify the female pit bull as potentially dangerous for the attack on the other dog. That does not mean that it would be euthanized.

Dog now referred to as Lab mix
Unneutered male stayed to fight
Female may be pregnant
Dogs are licensed
Owner has not yet been tracked down
The money quote: "It all could have been prevented if the particular owner was diligent about making sure their dogs were contained,"

Ran across this the other day as I was researching...

The ADVANCED TASER is not specifically recommended for use against animals as its main function. The main reason is that the ADVANCED TASER was created for "human nervous systems" not animals. Moreover, the ADVANCED TASER is designed to hit a standing vertical target which most animals are not. The shot would have to be altered and somehow aimed at the side of the animals where the wide center of mass is located and most animals don't attack from the side. Also, animals tend to recover very quickly compared to humans when hit by TASERs. The civilian range of 15 feet is somewhat limiting, too although law enforcement has cartridges for 21 feet. More research is required.
link

The link goes on to give examples of Tasers being used on animals.
Example 6. "Naked Man Fights with Officers, Dog"... is a little unusual. ;~)

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