Cop shoots, kills family dog - Golden Retriever

[RamboLiberal]

A Clayton County mother of six said the family dog did what he always did when he saw someone. He barked.

But when "Boomer" started barking and running toward a police officer Saturday morning, the officer shot the dog and killed it, Lawrene King told the AJC Sunday night.

“He’s a golden retriever," King said. "He barks, but he’s never bitten anyone.”

A Clayton County police officer was on foot patrol on North Shore Drive when the dog jumped off a porch and started barking and running toward the officer, Capt. Tina Daniel said. The officer ordered the dog to stop and when it didn't, the officer shot and killed the animal in its yard, Daniel said.

-----

The family had an electric fence, but there was not a sign alerting the officer it was there, Daniel said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/clayton/cop-shoots-kills-family-782080.html

I have a CCW and am also a dog owner. I've had dogs charge at me, but I seriously doubt I'd shoot a dog unless it was on the street coming at me & seriously looked like it was going to attack. I read too many stories of these cops killing family dogs that probably were not a real threat to the officers.

[flvegan]

1. This one should be good.

:popcorn:

[safeinOhio]

2. I was told by a cop

If you hold your gun out, away from your body the dog will bite at it first. So, only shoot when it bites the gun. That way you won't shoot a dog that isn't going to bite and you won't miss.

[MadMaddie]

3. I had a full blooded Pitt sauntered up to me early this year

I called her to me, she was tired, her eyes were red and she was sad. I didn't panic, I spoke to her and gave her some water. I obviously couldn't leave her where I found her which was a busy intersection. I put her in the car and we went to a vet and had her chip read. Called the owners.

My point is are these Police Officers unable to distinguish a dog protecting it's property from strangers are they able to distinguish threats from humans?

You will read about this guy in the future killing somebody because he felt threatened. Yuo will see..

[Hawkowl]

18. +100 .nt

[LiberalFighter]

4. Are law enforcement trained about animal behavior and how to control?

It may be this particular officer has a fear of dogs. If so, should he still be an officer?

[HardWorkingDem]

36. Yep, all police officers are actually super secret...

Supermen and Superwomen and completely free of all humanly traits....

[Old and In the Way]

5. Golden's are about the most friendly dog you can find.

My Golden barks when people come over...it's their way of saying hello. He "ordered" the dog to stop? Sounds like an excuse to kill something.

[A Brand New World]

14. I have 2 goldens currently and 1 who has passed. But my main problem

with them & strangers is that they will bark and at the same time they're "smiling". A lot of people think they're snarling. I'm always thrilled when someone recognizes it as a smile. Do yours smile?

[Old and In the Way]

60. He 'smiles' with his tail....it wags furiously.

He also looks for something, a shoe, ball or stick - to bring to the person arriving. I can't figure out if it's to have the object thrown, or a gift, or something to keep his teeth busy while greeting. He does like to tenderize my hands. :-)

[rbixby]

62. Mine smiles a lot too

and when the doorbell rings, she barks like a german shepherd, she definitely wouldn't bite anyone though.

[a la izquierda]

80. I love smiling dogs

;) I work at a kennel, we have a couple of smilers (not one particular breed or another).

[footinmouth]

6. Scary

I'm the proud owner of a Golden Retriever who's also restrained by an Invisible Fence in the front yard. She's very friendly, but she looks mighty fierce if someone is passing by her property. I'd be afraid of her and the person passing by has no way of knowing that she is harmless.

As a responsible dog owner she is never left outside in the front yard unless I am with her. I'm sorry for the loss of the golden but the owners shouldn't have put the dog in such a position. The dog was doing what dogs do, protecting their people and their property. The officer considered the dog a threat and acted accordingly.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. Let's put things in perspective...

Did the police officer go home safely at the end of the day?
That's all that matters. It was a good day.

[RamboLiberal]

8. Not a good day for the dog

I doubt if a Golden could kill a full grown police officer. Family was wrong for leaving the dog out alone & for not having signs about the invisible fence.

[superduperfarleft]

10. Oh, good lord.

I don't know whether to :rofl: or :puke: .

[Boudica the Lyoness]

11. Lets put it this way

If he had killed one of my family members, he would have had his last day on this earth.

[NutmegYankee]

15. Are you for real?

I guess you've never owned a dog. Police Officers have been shooting dogs far too often recently.

[Xicano]

16. Here's another perspective...

If someone other than a police officer had done EXACTLY the same thing. Would they not have been arrested to explain their story to a judge?

And rightly so...

n/t

[HardWorkingDem]

40. Hardly doubt it...

unless the person was illegally in possession of a firearm, the person would probably be able to show fear for his or her safety.

[jtuck004]

17. I'm sure that will be of great comfort to the family of the preacher

who was shot and killed in his front yard while trying to follow the orders of the policeman in Spokane.

Crime in the area, unmarked sedan in the dark lot next door to his home (the parking lot of their greenhouse).

Walked out with a gun, on his own property. Policeman "reportedly" told him to put the gun down, when the
policeman saw him put his hand on the but of the gun he killed him on the spot.

The policeman went home safe at the end of the day...that's not all that matters.

[Crunchy Frog]

86. Perspective, perspective.

Police officer safety is the highest good to which society can aspire. Sometimes some sad sacrifices have to be made, but it's for a greater purpose.

[jtuck004]

101. I disagree.Tthey are not there to serve the police officers. They are there

to serve the community. That selfish perspective is what makes them less than useful.

When I was a medic going on the very same calls in a large city, sometimes we arrived at shootings
before the police. We didn't have the option of killing innocent people to insure our safety.

That's wrong, and there is no justification for it.

[Crunchy Frog]

106. Well medics aren't important the way police officers are.

I mean, you're expendable. A police officer really isn't.

[jtuck004]

107. Oh, like wealthy Republicans instead of single mothers - heckuva viewpoint.

you got there, Brownie.

But I remember that police officer grabbing for me to stop the bleeding, not one of his "partners", who I could barely get to hold the IV bag.

Think whatever you want.

[Crunchy Frog]

110. I'm sorry that your sarcasm detector is off tonight.

Or that I'm in a particularly sarcastic mood and am just spewing stuff off the top of my head.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

129. Haha...

now you're getting it

[nosmokes]

19. Horseshit.

The pig shot a dog in his own yard. no excuse. none. and fuck yeah I'm a cop basher. when they start policing their own ranks I'll start giving the mofos some respect. but when they march through neighborhoods like the fucking biggest, baddest armed gangsters that they are I got no use for 'em.

[TBF]

28. Another cop-loving capitalist - they've taken over DU. nt

[TexasObserver]

30. It was a good day for a misanthrope with a badge.

Everyone else had a bad day because of a guy with a nervous trigger finger and the brain of a chimp.

[EFerrari]

32. Good grief. n/t

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[nosmokes]

64. the cop going home safely is *far* from "all that matters."

anyone that quick on the trigger w/ a dog in it's own yard is quite likely to be pretty quick to shoot in a tense situation that involves human life as has been pointed out. If this dog killing SOB can't handle a golden retriever I have serious doubts of his ability to handle other stressful situations w/o resorting to a high level of violence that is uncalled for.

[HEyHEY]

70. Yes, I'm tired of golden retrievers and their reign of terror

:eyes:

Bottom line is that this crap happens more and more. Police are just not trained the way they used to be. That's a problem.

[Crunchy Frog]

84. Maybe he'll have another good day and bag a child.

It's all good as long as the cops are safe.

[lukasahero]

93. +1

Thank you.

[blueamy66]

117. Yeah, screw the public

and the innocent victims of their abuse.

My neighbors, across the street, have 2 GRs....Buddy and Cody. They are lovable, slobbering goofballs...love them to pieces! I'd freak if a stupid public servant with a high school education blew one of them away. Just absolutely freak!

[Incitatus]

100. Did the cop that shot the man in the head who was lying face down in handcuffs go home safely? nt

[blueamy66]

118. Yep.

Thank the good Lord above.

NOT.

[Crunchy Frog]

125. Tasering people in diabetic comas makes cops safe too...

and makes Baby Jesus smile.

[pokerfan]

109. Here endeth the lesson?

[H2O Man]

133. anus

[HardWorkingDem]

9. Oh, goody, another thread to hammer cops again....

does it ever end?

Good thing the dog didn't have a gun in its paws, then people would have been screaming for the cop to shot the gun out of its paw.....

[MicaelS]

13. No it won't....

Especially if cops are killing people's dogs, which many consider a member of their family.

[apocalypsehow]

44. Yep. And yet they would be the first to go sky-winding furious if they punched "911" in an

emergency and....no one showed up.

I have family members in law enforcement, and these kinds of threads always tend to bring out some ugly comments that trade on stereotypes and cliches that would not be permitted about any other class of people. And by so-called "progressives" no less! :eyes:

[HEyHEY]

71. Does police making bad decisions ever end?

Is it that hard to just have cops that don't do stupid things like this?

[Incitatus]

102. Yes, cops can do no wrong. How dare we criticize anything they do?

We have no idea what it's like to have a gun and badge and get away with almost anything.

[Bonhomme Richard]

12. Bottom line. If that cop is so easy to panic then he shouldn't ....

be carrying a weapon period.

[LisaL]

27. Also, he shot a dog in a residential area.

What if he missed an there was a person walking by?

[HardWorkingDem]

39. What would you say if there was a little kid there...

did nothing and the dog attacked the kid....

[LisaL]

43. What if the cop missed the dog while shooting it in a residential

area and the little kid was playing nearby? Hah?

[Crunchy Frog]

88. What if the cop got spooked by a little kid and shot him dead on the spot.

It happens.

[Name removed]

111. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HardWorkingDem]

37. Have you ever....

been attacked by a dog? Or even known anyone who has? If the guy responded by trying to use an alarming and authoritative tone with the dog, he may have responded without panic for as long as he thought safe.

[nosmokes]

65. why do you keep bringing up mythological scenarios?

the situation as described shows plainly a cop who over-reacted when faced with a harmless family pet in it's very own yard. there wasn't any hot pursuit,children being mauled or elderly women being eaten by a pack of wolves al fresco for dinner. It was one fucking outta control pig who can't do what millions of us do every damn day which is pass by a barking dog w/o shooting it to death. WTF is that so hard for you to comprehend?

[HardWorkingDem]

113. I keep bringing up different scenarios because...

evidently you can't read the article and conveniently leave out parts in your hatred for police officers.

[blueamy66]

119. Amen.

Lovely post...no elderly women? LOL!!!

[Obamanaut]

130. I have a nearby neighbor who has pit bulls. They are in a fenced area

unless the owner is with them. The neighbor has children. I had been in the yard many times chatting with neighbor and kids, and scratching dogs' heads.

One day while riding recumbent bicycle (seat about 24 inches above road) I passed in front of their house, the man was mowing, a dog was out of the fence, and came into the road, grabbed a bite-full of butt and took me off the bicycle. No bark, no warning, just bite.

The guy apologized profusely and rehomed the dog.

It is possible the LEO was in danger of being bitten. It does happen.

[LisaL]

134. Does the remote possibility that the dog who was in his own

yard and according to the family has never bitten anyone before could get through the electric fence and proceed to bite this officer justify shooting in a residential area?

[Angry Dragon]

72. Yes, I have been attacked by a german shepard

and I did not shoot it, never even thought about it
and the cop that shot the dog has not business carrying a gun

[lukasahero]

94. The cop was not attacked by a dog

The cop had a dog growl and bark at him. If he can't decipher the difference, he shouldn't have license to carry a gun.

[HardWorkingDem]

114. Read the article...

try that...there's more than a growl...

[Incitatus]

105. The dog was still in his own yard. Or did you miss that part?

[xchrom]

20. shrug -- accidently or on purpose -- it does give a rather chilling message to

the community about cops and the citizens had better 'behave'.

[Dash87]

21. What ever happened to pepper spray?

Why do they always pull out a gun and shoot? Dog charging? Shoot! A deaf hobo carving a piece of wood? Shoot! The wind whistling on a chilly night? Pull out the gun and shoot at everything you see.

I think sometimes you get these kooky cops that can't wait to discharge their weapons. These guys shouldn't be anywhere near a badge.

[RamboLiberal]

22. I don't think a lot of them even carry pepper spray

Instead they now have tasers. And if he was carrying a taser why not try that first.

Some of these cops wouldn't make it as postal carriers.

[HardWorkingDem]

24. Doesn't always work on canines....

ever been attacked by any dog?

It's not fun...

[LisaL]

26. The dog had an electric fence.

My dog used to bark at people that walked by. It wasn't attacking anyone, it was just putting on a show of how good it was at protecting the territory. Jeez.

[HardWorkingDem]

34. Let's see here....

You are walking down a sidewalk next to an unfenced yard and a dog starts running toward you barking. There is NO fence, nor any type of signage warning of an "electric fence."

How is anyone supposed to know that there is an electric fence and the dog will stop or that the dog will not bite?

The universal alarm system for a dog is barking.

But let's take it one step further - let's imagine there is a little old and frail person walking right behind the cop a few paces and the dog goes up, jumps on him/her and takes a nip on his/her arm. Oh, I imagine what the uproar would be - "ARMED COP LET'S VISCOUS DOG ATTACK FRAIL OLD HELPLESS PERSON."

Let's face it - this is just another anti-cop thread here at DU.

[LisaL]

41. Well since I don't carry the gun I can't shoot any dogs

even if I wanted to. But if I saw a golden retriever running toward me while still in his yard, I sincerely doubt the thought to shoot it would even occur to me.

[Doremus]

69. Not an anti-cop thread. An anti-BAD-cop thread.

And if you don't think a bad cop is one exhibiting such poor judgment as this, then you are simply another member of the "cops can do no wrong" thread spammers.

[HardWorkingDem]

115. Let me see if I have this right...

a person, a human being, is walking by another person's yard and a large unknown dog comes running from the porch barking at the person while in an unfenced yard and you expect the person to do what? Stand there and possibly be attacked by a large dog?

Do you expect a person to hum at the dog?

Now, I'd be 100 percent in agreement with people here if the dog was behind a good fence or on a long leash or chain, but no, the automatic hate the police crowd here ignores all the parts of this story and blames the cop instead of the dog owners.

So instead of it being a defense of cops, this thread is nothing more than a hate the cops thread - again.

[LisaL]

122. I got news for you. Dogs bark.

I don't see why this cop had to shoot a dog who was in his yard in a residential neighborhood.

[Crunchy Frog]

91. That happens to me every time I take a walk in my neighborhood.

Guess someday I'll have to go out with a gun and blow away all those canine menaces.

[lukasahero]

95. I have been approached by barking pit bulls

I didn't shoot - I yelled at them. They stopped. I'm 5'2", 110 lbs soaking wet. Yeah, I was scared - I got over it.

Holy fucking christ - have we lost all rational thought here?

It wasn't a "little old and frail person" - it was a fucking cop with a god damn gun - how much danger was he in ? He had the fucking gun!

[NoGOPZone]

31. Neither is being shot nt

[Kingofalldems]

58. As a letter carrier for 30+ years I can testify pepper spray works

He shot a Golden Retriever which in my experience is the dog LEAST likely to bite. This cop is a coward.

[Withywindle]

61. +10,000

Every time I hear one of these cop-shoots-harmless-family-dog stories, I just think of all the people who go door-to-door in neighborhoods all the damn time without the police training and the armor and the tasers and the guns. Mail carriers, delivery drivers, census takers, political canvassers, salespeople, trick-or-treaters, utility repair people, those guys who leave the restaurant menus on doorsteps....All of whom seem to get by just fine without killing any dogs.

Makes me think some of these alleged badasses wildly overreact in a situation that a 10-year-old Girl Scout selling cookies could handle just fine.

[lukasahero]

96. Thank you. eom

[Dash87]

59. And the next logical concept is firing bullets?

How could that be justified?

[tblue37]

90. I actually got a nasty bite from a little longhaired dachshund--one that actually loves me!

I was entering my friend's house but I was carrying a couple of bags and a cane, so her dog didn't recognize me, or perhaps didn't even realize I was not some sort of bizarrely shaped monster. Anyway, he bit my shin, and it took some weeks before the bite healed, because those little dachshunds have powerful jaws!

He's a great dog, but since that day I always make sure he is in his owner's arms or back in the bedroom when I go over there. Then he comes out to be petted and played with, but I don't trust him any more to know it is me right away and not bite me.

[blueamy66]

120. So, do you think the Dachshund's punishment

should be death?

[Crunchy Frog]

128. I once read about a cop who had to be hospitalized

after being attacked by a pack of Chihuahuas. I'm not joking.

[MadHound]

131. Bullshit,

Having been had a vicious dog charge me, I've used pepper spray. It worked just fine. The dog slunk away, alive, and I finished my walk.

Pepper spray is an excellent way to discourage vicious dogs, and much more humane than shooting them in their own yard.

[Canuckistanian]

23. "The officer ordered the dog to stop"

There you go. The dog was warned and didn't comply with a lawful order.

Case closed.

[LisaL]

29. I bet he didn't put his paws up either.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

56. Might as well order a Golden to stop drooling and wagging its tail.

[hatrack]

25. "The officer ordered the dog to stop . . . " Are you fucking KIDDING ME?

:puke:

[Crystal Clarity]

50. I noticed that too

wtf?

[Frisbee]

35. I seriously doubt that at any time is history...

has there been a mean golden retriever.

[OnyxCollie]

81. "Buddy," the Golden Retriever

always snarls and snaps furiously from the window as my dogs and I pass by.

One day he came out, ears back, stalking towards us. His owner called in vain, "Buddy... Come back here... Buddy."

His owner grabbed him before a conflict erupted.

[HardWorkingDem]

38. I'm just curious....how many people here....

have seen dog bite injuries on little children? And how often?

The lack of "two sides to every story" aspect here is amazing. For one thing, cops can't do anything anytime at DU. Nothing.

When I read stories like this, I think of things like, who knows if the dog was viscous or not and what if a little child had been walking by instead? Or what if the cop thought the same thing. That here is a viscous dog here that is running right toward me and barking like crazy.

Now, of course, if it later is revealed that this cop walked by this house many times and knew of this dogs behavior, then that is another story.

But I guess this is another time where it only would have been suitable for the cop to shoot the dog after he had been bitten and drug to the ground.

[LisaL]

42. The dog was in his yard.

With an electric fence. And while you are defending this cop, I would like to point out the dog was shot in a residential area. What if the children you are so concerned about were playing nearby and the cop missed?
Think about that.

[HardWorkingDem]

45. Have you thought maybe....

the electric fence might have been an underground canine electric fence? Because I certainly doubt there is any "residential" town in a America that allows "electric" cow-like fences in residential areas.

And my use of the child was to point out the anti-cop venom here at Du that is never ending.

[LisaL]

46. What difference does it make what kind of electric fence it was?

Again, the dog was shot in a residential area. What could happen if the cop missed the dog and people were nearby? What if the owner kids decided to run after the dog?

[HardWorkingDem]

48. Wow....

Then probably the cop would have done something else.....and if the cop missed and hit a person, then that is another story.

But I don't know what else to suggest to a person who doesn't get a story where a barking dog comes running down off of a person's porch toward a person walking along a sidewalk and ends up getting shot because the person is a cop and has no idea if the dog is viscous or not. Barking is a universal warning sign for dogs.

And actually, the owner's of the dog should probably be questioned about if their dog was in the habit of this, then why wasn't it on a leash.

[tblue37]

89. It was precisely that sort of fence. The point about there not being a sign

to let the cop know about the fence is that the cop had no way to know the dog couldn't get to him.

Furthermore, some dogs do charge right through those fences. (I know of two that do so.) I love dogs and hate police brutality, but this cop probably had no way of knowing that the dog wasn't going to attack him. The owners should not have let their dog charge at people like that. They should have been nearby, with the dog under their control, not charging off the porch at passersby.

[truebrit71]

73. The cop is an adult, not a child. Nice strawman though...

..:eyes:

[Crunchy Frog]

92. What are viscous dogs like anyway?

I would think they would be particularly slow moving.

[lukasahero]

99. ;)

[Withywindle]

112. they ooze. Like molasses.

Newflash to the resident troll: "viscous" means a slow-moving, oozy fluid. Like honey or molasses or various sexual lubricant products.

The word you want, when looking for a word to apply to mean dogs or right-wing trolls, is VICIOUS.

Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIdc0NGumVc

Totally different words, and the spelling makes all the difference!

[lukasahero]

98. There was no fucking child in this scenario

Take your "what ifs" elsewhere and deal with the actual situation.

[HardWorkingDem]

116. I'll do that when...

people here start using all of the components in the story instead of leaving them out.

But hey, tell all the dog-attacked children in the US that they don't matter and shouldn't even be considered because some dog owners can't leash there dogs.

[blueamy66]

121. I got bit by a German Shepherd when I was 3.

No big deal. I lived. And my Dad didn't even have to shoot the dog. No stitches....just a bandaid.

Imagine that?!

[Crunchy Frog]

127. I wonder if it was my German Shepherd.

He had a habit of running away from home and getting himself picked up by strangers. That happened once with a family with a young child. They left him alone with the child and she got a little nip. I know he wouldn't have intentionally hurt a child, but sometimes they don't really understand what their teeth can do to people. They nip their own puppies and probably just assume that human children are a type of puppy.

If that wasn't your experience, then I apologize for being presumptious.

[ladywnch]

47. since they seem to be so tazer happy, why not tase the dog if you feel

that threatened?.....you tase damn near everyone else from quadriplegics and geriatrics, to pregnant women but a dog is too much to tase?

[HardWorkingDem]

49. Don't always work on dogs, either...

Chains work though....and leashes, too...especially when a person owns a dog that has the practice of running off the porch running toward pedestrians while barking.

[NoGOPZone]

51. These cops seem to think it works pretty well

http://forums.officer.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-48818.html

[HardWorkingDem]

52. Very selective in your reading....

do you know how hard it is to get two probes into a dog? Not only that, as others there mentioned regarding the residual aspect of the tasing - the animal's brain reacts differently than a humans - it can keep on going.

But the larger issue would be to get the two probes in there to complete the circuit. And as the other poster mentioned - have a Plan B.


But don't get me wrong - who wants to have to shoot some person's dog? No one wants to do that.

[LisaL]

53. My dog used to bark at people who walked by.

And nobody was freaked out the dog is going to attack them. Imagine that.

[NoGOPZone]

55. As you are with your objections

You'll notice a comment about the dog who kept going, except he went full tilt AWAY from the officers.

As for you comment about how hard it is to get two probes into a dog, no I don't know, I've never done it, but I also didn't see any mention of that in the link. Must be that selective reading thing again.

[Cleita]

54. Our dogs bark at anyone who approaches the gates.

If anyone is at home we yell at them to shut up, however, they are fenced in and they wouldn't know how to attack anyone even if they entered the gate. I think officer Rambo needs to be investigated and maybe sued.

[surrealAmerican]

57. Yet another reason why an electric fence is not ...

... a viable substitute for a real fence, at least in a relatively urban setting.

[Liberal_in_LA]

63. Ugh.

[Rage for Order]

66. That's what happens when a dog charges someone who has a gun

Everybody always says "My dog would NEVER bite anyone!". Of course, this is true, until the moment in time when their dog does bite someone. Do you think all the families with pit bulls, rottweilers, german shepherds, dobermans, etc. ever think that their dog is going to be the one that maims or kills their child? Of course not, but tragically, it http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x47226">continues to happen.

[Canuckistanian]

74. No, that's what happens when a cop uses his gun to solve every problem

Golden Retrievers are the LEAST likely breed of dog to attack viciously.

And if every cop faced with a barking dog whips out his service weapon and starts blasting to deal with it, then that cop needs to reconsider his line of work.

[Rage for Order]

76. You've conveniently omitted a few facts

The cop wasn't dealing with only a "barking dog". From the article in the OP:

...the dog jumped off a porch and started barking and running toward the officer... The officer ordered the dog to stop and when it didn't, the officer shot and killed the animal in its yard.

Boomer was killed about 25 feet from his spot on the front porch, close to her front door, King said. He was not on a leash.


Did the cop fire too quickly? Perhaps, but to say that he shouldn't have fired because "Golden Retrievers are the LEAST likely breed of dog to attack viciously" is to say that the cop should have known that this particular dog would not bite him. Like I said, everybody always says that their dog would never bite anyone, and then they're completely shocked when their dog does actually bite someone.

[tblue37]

85. My new neighbor assured me that her dog wouldn't bite, but then the dog

came right at me and tried to bite me. Fortunately the dog was on a (long) chain, so I was able to scramble backward fast enough to get beyond his reach and thus avoid getting bitten, but I did end up falling and getting scraped up in the process. (I am 60 and no longer nimble.)

I love dogs, but they can chop you up if they want to.

[blueamy66]

123. If only dogs could

understand the English language.

Cops SUCK.

[flvegan]

75. Such utter fail.

Final running for Fail of the Year fail.

(facepalm)

[Rage for Order]

77. Yes, your comment is definitely in the running

Sorry, but human lives are much more valuable than animal lives. That's just the way it is.

Next time a dog charges you, barking loudly, be sure to act as if nothing is happening and the dog couldn't possibly harm you.

[superduperfarleft]

83. .

[lukasahero]

103. "That's just the way it is." - To you.

[flvegan]

108. Fail Part II.

Selfishness, Aisle 1 (your first comment)

Stupid, Aisle 2 (your second)

Careful who you respond to. Sometimes you come across someone that knows their shit here. Just an FYI to keep you from looking like an idiot in the future.

[flvegan]

126. Fail Part III.

Can't bring it.

Oh, no!!!!!

[HEyHEY]

78. He couldn't have used his knightstick? If this cop REALLY thought his life was in danger

He's too scared and trigger happy to be given a weapon, as he proved.

[Irishonly]

67. I have three German Shepherds

Two of our dogs are purebreds but are rescues. Sampson's hind legs are paralyzed but he has a harness for inside and a wheelchair for outside. Ranger is close to being toothless. Both of my boys were seriously neglected and Ranger was abused. Sweetie is mixed and we have had her since she was a puppy. Sweetie fits her name and both of the boys love her dearly,

A code enforcement officer came to my door to ask me if I would keep an eye on a vacant house. After she asked me to watch the house she asked if we had guard dogs. I said no, we had babies. Sampson dearly loves police officers and there is a reason why. I helped keep the city police and got to know several. Sampson loves a couple of them. I also walk all of the dogs daily (except when it is pouring). The police and firemen know who we are. Everyone roots for Sam and people have marveled to see Ranger go from an emaciated dog to one that is solid muscle and has the biggest almost toothless smile in the world. Ranger and Sweetie have their buddies also.

That being said they all sound like they are fantasizing about ripping your throat out if they don't know you and you come to the door. Its great keeping door to door people away and we don''t get junk put on our porch. I would be scared for them if a policeman they didn't know came storming up to the door. We don't do anything to get in trouble for but I can't help but think when I read stories like this one.

Our mail carrier gave me some pepper spray. I walk Ranger by himself because he walks so much faster than the other two Ranger is my workout and the other two are my wind down-5 miles total. I worry more about stupid people that let their dogs run. The other day Ranger and I were minding our own business and two shepherds charged us. Had some people not come out to help we would have been in trouble (didn't have the pepper spray at the time). I don't know what to say about a dog in a fenced yard. I know the dogs around here can't get out.

[npk]

68. In fairness to the cop

He probably intended to shoot an unarmed black man standing in the yard but instead shot the dog by mistake.

[lukasahero]

104. +1000

:)

[Dappleganger]

79. Well, when all you have in your pocket is a goddamn hammer...

every problem is a nail, isn't it?

Lazy cops, poor training.

[tblue37]

82. This breaks my heart, because I love animals, but it makes me mad at the owners, too.

I am a walker. I have often have had to walk extra long distances to avoid going past houses where people leave their dog loose on the porch, and the dog charges anyone who walks by.

A city isn't the jungle. I should be able to take a walk without having to be worried about being attacked by an animal that can seriously hurt me.

Again, I adore dogs, but I dont' want to be bitten by one, and some dogs will charge anyone who walks near their property--and sometimes bite as well. Some dogs will go even further and really tear into someone, especially if it is a child who runs and screams. Dogs who charge after people should not be left loose to charge after people.

Yes, the dog was on his porch, and yes the family had an electric fence, but there was no sign to let the cop know about the electric fence, and the dog charged at the cop. The cop would have no way to know that the dog wasn't really going to attack him.

The dog should have been under the owner's control while outside, not free to charge someone from the porch in a way that the person believed he would be attacked. (BTW, electric fences don't stop all dogs. A lot of dogs charge right through them.)

It was a cop this time, and the poor dog was shot and killed. But what if it had been someone else--a child, or someone like me, out for a walk. And suppose there had been no electric fence--or that the dog had been one that charged through electric fences?

I am disgusted by the rampant police brutality in our society these days. And I am disgusted by how often cops kill family pets in their own homes just for barking, as dogs should do when strangers intrude.

But this time I am rather less inclined to blame the cop than I usually am.

[LisaL]

124. That dog was in its own yard.

[TwilightGardener]

87. Stupid and unnecessary.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

97. There was a case in a western suburb of Portland a few years back

in which an off-duty cop was jogging through a quiet residential neighborhood and shot a Labrador retriever that ran after him.

Now I've lived in a household with a Lab, and they're not vicious. They're playful. The dog probably thought, "Oh, here's someone to play chase with." BANG!

Big scary cop frightened by a Labrador retriever.

[mistertrickster]

132. There's this amazing product . . . pepper spray. It's non-lethal and

doesn't richote and kill people.

Sheesh.