The 12yo golden getting shot, in another story on here in the last day, was far more sympathetic IMO.
First, what is anyone doing with even a Rottweiler mix, let alone a family with an ill-supervised 3yo having one? Those are scary, scary dogs.
Second, what was the dog doing in a situation to nip a 10yo? And if the police were called because of that, it is understandable that they were on guard.
Third, it’s pretty basic that if the dog is to be in the house, while dealing with the police outdoors after such an incident, the dog should be indoors.
1) This is a Rottweiler basset mix. Not a very tall dog. Rottweilers are not “scary scary” dogs, they are dogs. Some are well-bred, socialized and trained. Some are not. But to refer to a dog as “scary scary” is as silly as to refer to a firearm as “scary scary”. You’re talking about a herding breed, a breed that pulled carts of meat for the town butcher.
Do a search for Jake the Rottweiler, who chased off a criminal who was sexually assaulting a woman. I’m sure to the criminal element, they are “scary scary” dogs. But there is no reason for the non-criminal element to use the phrase to describe them.
2) The neighbors thought the kid was nipped, but the article clarifies that the dog didn’t bite the kid. Whatever happened to agitate the dog, the kid was scared. Either the dog was misbehaving (and needs to be better socialized around people) or the kid was misbehaving and the dog reacted to it. Fewer kids are taught to read a dog’s warning signs and they don’t understand proper behavior around dogs. We don’t know which of those two situations is accurate (unless further information comes out).
3) There are three other children, at least one, presumably, is older than the three year old. Apparently their father (admittedly shortsightedly) didn’t consider that one of the kids would open the door. It probably never occurred to him, before it happened, that the officer would shoot his barking, dancing dog.
If the dog had stayed indoors officer Friendly would have shot it indoors. Dogs are for real life situation target practice and it is all off budget except for the bullets.
You still don’t need to shoot it!
When I was growing up, people seemed more savvy about dogs. If I complained about a dog biting me, the 1st question out of an adults mouth would be, "What did you do?"