[johnfrink]

"Is it in their training to take no chances with dogs?"

It is in their training to evaluate a threat and respond with deadly force. The problem here is that they stupidly went to the wrong house to begin with, and so were at a higher level of precaution. So had they done what they were supposed to do, that "threat" would never have materialized.

From a heartstrings-tugging perspective, the death of the dog is the bad part of the story, but from a "that could have been you" perspective, it's the facts that the idiot cop went to the friggin' wrong address. How many times has this happened--cop goes to wrong address, kicks down door, owner grabs gun, thinking he's being robbed, and cop shoots owner? I'd say this is a fire-able offense, no doubt about it.

[ironman]

I don't think it is clear from the article whether the cop went to the wrong address or was directed to the wrong place. Either way bad bad result.

[Terry Mross]

These cops are stupid. All of them. They get a call that a burglary is in progress and they go up and knock on the door. Then they he shoots three times before he hits any thing. The homeowner is lucky him or his kids didn't get shot. Everyone from the chief on down should be fired and the city should be sued for hiring these keystone kops.