Dog Shot By Police
In Knoxville, the police shot a dog. Over at KnoxViews, CBT says:
This matter seems to warrant some discussion. It involves pit bulls, which have been the subject in a number of cities. I sometimes feel sorry for responsible pit bull breeders and owners who treat their dogs with proper care. These dogs are more aggressive by nature, but so are other breeds.
Sorta yes, mostly no. Dogs commonly referred to as pit bulls (pit bull is not a breed but a class of dogs) have it in their nature to more aggressive to other dogs. They are less inclined to be aggressive toward humans unless such aggression is encouraged in the animal. The dogs have a history in dog fighting (hence their aggression to dogs) and, in a fight, the humans had to maintain control so the dogs were bred to be tolerant of humans.
Also, and I hate to break it to folks, but bully type dogs often make horrible watchdogs. Their curiosity will probably get the better of them (assuming they awake from their slumber) and they’ll often sneak around to investigate things. That’s what my dog does. True story from a friend is that someone was trying to come through the window of his house. The dog, apparently, sat patiently and quietly by the window waiting for the intruder to enter. Once the intruder did enter, there wasn’t a sound other than the intruder trying to get out and cussing because a dog had clamped on his heiny. Said burglar was later caught at a hospital when he was getting his tail stitched up. The dog never barked. Watchdogs alert by barking more than defending their castle with force. A poodle makes a fine watch dog.
My politically incorrect dog is probably scary looking:
And he’s got big gnarly teeth. But watchdog, he is not. That’s what the alarm is for. However, if there was any escalation of violence in my home, rest-assured he’d be there doing his damnedest to put an end to it. I have no doubt he’d take a bullet for anyone in the family but, barring a physical altercation, he’d probably just watch. Anyway, enough of that. A few things of note about the incident:
Unsurprisingly, the dog was an unaltered male (which is the case in most dog bites, particularly fatal ones)
The dog was tethered, which, in addition to being bad pet ownership, also tends to make dogs more aggressive.
Why did the police get so close to the restrained dog? Seems to me it could have been avoided by simply not going near the dog. Other than that, I tend to concur with Aunt B:
If your dog bites a police officer, chances are that your dog is going to get shot. That’s unfortunate, but that’s a fact of life. If you don’t want your dog to get shot by the police or you want to have a credible way to dispute the police officer’s account of what happened, keep your dogs in the house where you can control them and witness the police’s behavior.
August 31st, 2007 at 11:32 am
“unaltered male”? I assume that means he wasn’t neutered?
I’ve often heard that the best “watchdog” is actually a pair: a little yappy dog that’ll raise hell, and big dog that will settle the matter.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:10 pm
My dad always believed that a scared little dog was the best watchdog; it wakes up easily, and make a lot of noise so that the owner can wake up and grab the shotgun.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
At first, I did think it was odd that the police went through the backyard instead of the front door. Then I noticed in the pictures that there didn’t appear to be a fence anyway. However, I do have to wonder just how dim and inattentive those police have to be to not notice a dog, a giant chain running to the dog, or a DOG HOUSE as they approached the door.
Did they think the plastic dog house was a home for really small people? Based on the photos, I’d have to say that this would be a no fault situation, because both the owners and the police are idiots.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Is it just me or has Police shootings of dogs really gone up since the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans? I heard that the cops there were shooting every dog they saw and I cant help thinking that cops nationwide now think it’s the thing to do. And it seems like they go out of their way to find a reason to do so.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Jack, they always shoot the dog. Google up puppycide.
August 31st, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Shooting people’s dogs? That doesn’t sound like the best strategy to increase donations to the FOP.
I have a yappy mini-dachsund, and she is a very good watchdog. Pretty much will bark at anybody 10 feet from any entrance in the house. Can’t fight worth a damn, though.
August 31st, 2007 at 2:08 pm
Somewhere I read the story of the practice areas of the police on house raids.
They used paint-ball guns that left splatters on pop-up targets inside the practice house.
The dog had the most hits.
… Your perform like you practice.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:35 pm
It is pretty much SOP now to shoot the dog.
August 31st, 2007 at 5:37 pm
I think it’s kind of a wimpy way for a policeman to make his bones.
Very important to have a legitimate shooting on your record. Dogs are one of the cheap ways of getting that done.
August 31st, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I don’t care who you work for. Shooting at my dog is a surefire way to have lead coming in your direction.
The list of people that I would pull out of a burning building before my dog is like Howard Stern’s johnson–short and distinguished.
September 1st, 2007 at 7:09 pm
“The list of people that I would pull out of a burning building before my dog is like Howard Stern’s johnson–short and distinguished.”
I had a similar outlook when I was in the fire service, anyone who was high ranking and/or a V.I.P. got rescued LAST. And yes, DOGS had a higher priority on MY list.
September 5th, 2007 at 8:45 am
Anyone exhibiting such poor judgment shouldn’t be carrying a gun. The fact this involved a cop only makes it worse.