I get outraged by cops shooting dogs, but my experience with my town’s police is completely different.
Last week, my hound escaped the backyard and took off. The police found the dog, took him to a safe place, and called me.
A few years ago, an old beagle of mine wandered away. The officer put him in the front seat of the car and drove him home to me.
Sometimes, police do good things.
The police in our town have community service officers who drive around in vans, and they all have hand-held scanners so they can read the dog’s microchip and return the pooch to its people (obviously, the dog has to have a chip for this to work! But I believe responsible pet owners should chip their dogs). Dogs that are not chipped go to a local vet to see if anyone recognizes them.