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I’ve been to alot of houses on duty. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told, just before the dog comes at me, “My dog doesn’t bite” but it’s alot. I’ve had them biting at my lower leg, getting ahold of my pants and biting my shoe after I put my foot up to ward them off.

Most homeowners didn’t even apologize. And they invited me into their homes.

Of course, those kinds of stories don’t make it here on FR. I won’t even try to deny that there are alot of police shooting dogs that shouldn’t have.

I’ve shot alot of dogs, the vast majority are pit bulls that irresponsible owners have just turned loose and are going after people.

I’ve seen several kids with their faces ripped to shreds with terrible gaping wounds from dog bites.

There are also stories the other way around. One of our guys had his arm broken by a rottweiler bite. He didn’t shoot the dog. And that was at a house they were shutting down for narcotics sales. Several other officers on my dept. have been bitten and not shot the animal.

Oh well, it is what it is.

I’ve shot alot of dogs, the vast majority are pit bulls that irresponsible owners have just turned loose and are going after people.

Of these stories we read week after week here on FR of cops shooting dogs, I cannot remember a single one concerning dogs 'turned loose'. And almost none of incidents where the owner 'invited me into their homes.'

For the most part, the shooters were on private property where they were not invited, not welcome, and not expected. One of these incidents is going to end in a bigger tragedy than a dog getting killed.

I think you realize that the true tragedy here is not the dog being killed, which is terrible, but that the police/Sherriff will just rule that it was all on the up and up. If the LEO would be held to the same standard as any other citizen was held to then it would be ok. Unfortunately LEOs are held to less of a standard and you all watch after your own. If this happened then people would truly believe and support the police.

Your police department needs to spend some time at the post office finding out how they are able to deliver mail without antagonizing dogs or having to shoot them. Most departments have canine corps — don’t they teach officers how to handle dogs??? Invite the dog whisperer to hold a seminar. Any police officer who can’t handle a canine situation without shooting the canine should not be on the police force, and any officer who can’t tell a pit bull from a golden retriever should be sent to the pound.

I doubt anyone loves dogs more than I do. That said, there are some dogs (and their stupid owners) that ought to be shot. My wife has spoken to two police officers concerning a loose, dangerous dog next door, but the police are powerless to preempt the problem before someone gets mauled. Our neighbor has a huge Great Pyrenees that keeps getting out of their yard (we suspect the neighbor actually lets it out to run). It roams around threatening people. On several occasions, it has run up within two feet of me or my wife in our yard, barking and acting like it means to kill us. I finally went to the neighbor (black with an attitude) and asked why he can’t keep the dog confined to its yard. I was dumbfounded by his utter lack of concern. He said, “The dog don’t bite, the dog is fine”. To make a long story short, I replied to him that “Well, I’m not fine, my wife is not fine, and we are terrified of your dog biting us. Dogs are still unpredictable animals and there is no guarantee that he won’t bite someone, like a child”. I further told him that if the dog does bite us, I would sue. He just turned and walked away. Until someone is bitten or mauled, the police will do nothing, because we have asked for help. My wife asked the police if I could shoot the dog if it came onto our property and threatened to bite us. They said no, that would be a Federal crime. Huh? Is that true? When minutes count, our county animal control is an hour away from when they are called.

I’m not known as the popo’s biggest admirer, and think LEOs need to seriously trim back the paramilitary garbage. There is a reason we don’t use SEALS and army Delta for police work. When cops think they are soldier, we start looking like taliban.

That said, I’m I the only one who noticed the issue of an electronic fence? Maybe dog owners need to remember that an invisible fence is, well, invisible. No one walking by knows it is there.
A dog comes running at me, where I have a legal right to be, I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. People should control their animals, and I can’t see their invisible fence.