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Family Shocked, Outraged after Deputy Shoots Pet Dog in their Yard
KIDK.com ^ | 21 November 2007 | Nate Eaton

Posted on 11/21/2007 12:36:37 PM PST by Lurker

A Teton County, Idaho family is outraged after they say a sheriff's deputy tried to murder their dog in their own front yard.

The Barboza family has owned their dog Bobby for five years. A few days ago they say a Teton County Idaho Sheriff's Deputy knocked on their door demanding to see the dog.

Leonel Barboza, Dog Owner: "He says, 'I'm here to put him down. I'm here to kill him.'"

The officer told Leo Barboza there had been a complaint Bobby had bitten someone.

Barboza: "I said, 'Do you have any proof or anything?' He says, 'I don't need any proof.'"

So Leo got the dog while the deputy pulled out a rifle from his car. They walked a few feet from the Barboza's home where Leo's wife and his three year old son were inside.

Leo and the officer tied the dog to a pole when the deputy fired three shots. The dog then collapsed. Leo's son heard the gunshots and opened the front door. Meanwhile...

Barboza: "A bunch of kids just got off the bus and they were all on the street. All the kids were watching the officer shooting the dog. My heart was broken seeing an officer killing my dog."

The deputy then got in his vehicle and drove away leaving the dog bleeding profusely from his head almost dead.

Barboza: "I came back inside with my wife and hid. We were hugging each other crying about our dog because we were gonna miss him. He's been with us for five years."

That night Leo's father-in-law, who witnessed the whole thing, had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized. When the family returned home from the hospital a few days later, they were shocked to see their dog alive.

Barboza: "My wife called me up and she's like, 'Hey, the dog's alive!' I was like, 'What are you serious?' I was happy my dog was alive."

The Teton County Idaho Sheriff wouldn't say much about this case except that it's still under investigation. He also said there's been numerous complaints about the Barboza's dog. But when I checked court records, I could only find one complaint filed last year and that was dismissed.

Nate Eaton, Channel 3 Eyewitness News: "Did your dog ever bite anybody?"

Barboza: "Not to my knowledge. No."

Eaton: "And this was the first time you'd ever heard of any complaint?"

Barboza: "Yes, this is the first time. I still think about it. You know my kid thinks all the cops are bad because an officer came and shot his dog. Honestly when I think about it I get mad too and I don't trust that officer any more."

The Barboza's took Bobby to the vet. He's now on medication to get the wounds taken care of. The holes in his head will be sewn up after Thanksgiving.

The family has hired attorney Josh Garner. I spoke with him this evening and he says, "If the facts are as they appear, the deputies behavior is disgusting, troublesome, and appalling. The officer needs to be held responsible."

Several sources say the officer is still on duty and still working in the county.

If you have a comment on this story, email us yourturn@kidk.com or natee@kidk.com.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: Idaho
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; leo; pets; tetoncounty
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To: Dog

The only advice I can give to someone in this situation is to let it happen and lawyer-up. The canine gets the shaft, I know, but you will be able to buy dozens more with the settlement.


21 posted on 11/21/2007 12:53:29 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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To: Lurker
I have a hard time believing this is the whole story, or even partly accurate.

To put a dog down usually requires a nuisance complaint to be filed by the district attorney and a trial. (I know, I have tried dog-barking cases.) Had that occurred, an order after the trial would have been served on the owners and they would have had the opportunity to "abate the nuisance" themselves. If they refused after trial and service of an order, then the sheriff would get involved.

I've never heard of a sheriff just showing up with a gun. And if there were a court order, he would have had papers with him authorizing the "abatement."

This story is wildly improbable, although anything is possible.

22 posted on 11/21/2007 12:53:35 PM PST by ModelBreaker
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To: Dog
Whoa...this doesn't make sense...the dog was shot and they left it tied to a tree to die.. and discovered days later it was alive..

Yeah......that part kinda confused me, too.

Also, the part about the guy helping the deputy tie the dog to a pole so the deputy could shoot him.

23 posted on 11/21/2007 12:54:33 PM PST by cowboyway (My heroes have always been Cowboys)
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To: Lurker

Two words...due process.


24 posted on 11/21/2007 12:54:37 PM PST by vigilence
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To: ModelBreaker

Maybe he was the one Bobby bit.


25 posted on 11/21/2007 12:54:56 PM PST by CindyDawg
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To: Lurker

Shoulda used a taser.


26 posted on 11/21/2007 12:55:31 PM PST by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: Lurker

I cannot imagine this- even if the dog was under court order to be destroyed for being dangerous, it would seem he would be taken to the pound and put to sleep. A deputy dragging the dog out and shooting him in front of everyone is just crazy! Did the dog bite the deputy or one of his family members?


27 posted on 11/21/2007 12:55:43 PM PST by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
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To: Dog

I suspect there are some pieces of the story missing. Perhaps this is way out in the middle of nowhere and getting the father in law to the hospital and being with him was the priority. If the dog was lying still with three bullet holes in its head they may have just assumed it was dead or unconscious and beyond help. If the father in law seemed like he might be having a heart attack, and the hospital was a long way off, and the family only had one car . . . The fact that no one in the family came home from the hospital (or at least from whatever town the hospital was located in) for several days supports this scencario.

What I think may be missing is something along the lines of a neighbor assuring the departing family that he’d see if anything could be done for the dog, and taking care of it in their absence. Apparently not with the help of a vet, from the sound of it, but if this is a farming area where people are in the habit of doing a lot of veterinary type care for their farm animals, and there are no “pet vets” nearby, that could make sense. With so many people having witnessed the shooting, I can’t imagine the dog was just left tied to a tree and unattended all that time.


28 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:14 PM PST by GovernmentShrinker
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To: Allegra
Yes, something appears to be missing here.

Common sense of any kind?

L

29 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:24 PM PST by Lurker ( Comparing moderate islam to extremist islam is like comparing smallpox to ebola.)
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To: Shire

This is not hard to understand if you read the whole article.
Dog shot 3 times, collapses, appears dead. Family goes inside crying and hugging, Grand dad suffers a nervous breakdown and is rushed to the hospital.
When they return home the next day, the wife discovers the dog is alive. The vet is going to sew him up after thanksgiving, I suspect to allow the wounds to drain. I’ve had several dogs that the vets didn’t opt to close the wounds on right away.

Now why they would allow a cop to shot their dog, they are immigrants. I would have demanded a court order, and then wanted to know what vet to delivery the dog too. NO WAY COULD A COP WALK UP AND SHOOT MY DOG. This is NAZI STORM TROOPER behavior.
robbin


30 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:26 PM PST by Robbin
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To: brytlea

They thought he was surely dead. After all, he did get a few good plugs near the head.


31 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:26 PM PST by the OlLine Rebel (Common sense is an uncommon virtue.)
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To: Lurker
Isn’t this a job for animal control? Since when can cops, apparently without a warrant or complaint, or something in writing, kill your pet and leave? If he bit someone, wouldn’t they check the dog for rabies or something? This is weird.
32 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:59 PM PST by Doomonyou (Let them eat lead.)
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To: Dog

That’s not a home in the background, that’s a scrapyard.


33 posted on 11/21/2007 12:56:59 PM PST by Old Professer (The critic writes with rapier pen, dips it twice, and writes again.)
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To: Robbin

Just wait till the statists find this thread...


34 posted on 11/21/2007 12:57:04 PM PST by darkangel82 (And the band played on....)
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To: Dog

Sounds like they are all crazy- deputy, dog owners, all- just insane. Story doesn’t make sense.


35 posted on 11/21/2007 12:57:15 PM PST by Tammy8 (Please Support and pray for our Troops, as they serve us every day.)
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To: Lurker

exactly, unfortunate but true !


36 posted on 11/21/2007 12:58:00 PM PST by JMJJR (Just doing my part to slow the coming of the next impending ice-age)
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To: what_not2007

It doesn’t help that the article reads as if it were written by a fifth grader.


37 posted on 11/21/2007 12:58:33 PM PST by Hildy
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To: Hildy

Maybe it was.


38 posted on 11/21/2007 12:59:11 PM PST by CindyDawg
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To: Old Professer

That is the photo posted with the article at the link...I took it from there.


39 posted on 11/21/2007 12:59:17 PM PST by Dog (My writer ISN'T on strike...)
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To: the OlLine Rebel

Sounds tho, like he must wander loose, or they would know for sure if he had bitten someone (I would know if my dogs did).
susie


40 posted on 11/21/2007 12:59:17 PM PST by brytlea (amnesty--an act of clemency by an authority by which pardon is granted esp. to a group of individual)
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