[Luvs]

It is so easy to say what should have been done after the fact. Even if the officer had been told that the dog was friendly, if the dog was charging him he had every right to protect himself. Who is to say that the dog was not ready to defend his territory against the officer who was obviously a stranger. Just because a dog is friendly does not mean that they will welcome all strangers into their yard or house. It is so easy to say that "my dog is friendly and would NEVER hurt anyone" but if they have never been placed in that situation how can you really say for sure?

I personally don't think that it was ONLY because he was a Rottweiler. Any large breed or medium breed for that matter can cause serious harm. I feel that if the officer felt threatened then he had every right to protect himself. Now, I would definately have a MAJOR problem with an officer shooting a toy breed who really would pose very little threat. Even tho toy breeds can bite, really how much damage can they do? A swift kick can usually take care of those little ankle biters ;)

I guess I am somewhat prejudiced when it comes to situations like this. I hear all the time about dogs going after our officers. I have only heard of a couple officers in our area shooting someones dog. The few I have heard of were totally justified. They repeatedly told the owner of the dog to restrain their dog. The stupid owner refused and the dog ultimately paid with its life :( In all the cases since I have been dispatching the owner was present. I do know of several officers, my husband included who have pepper sprayed dogs instead of shooting them. Unfortunately tho pepper spray does not always work and in those instances the officer may have to shoot the dog if it comes down to it. Fortunately here, those cases are very infrequent. I always make sure when I am sending an officer or an ambulance to a residence to ask if the people have dogs and advise them to put the dogs up (when possible). There are calls tho where because of an escalating situation I am not able to even get that far.

I realize that not every dog shot by an officer is justified. I am sure that there are some who are trigger happy. That is why EVERY shooting is investigated. The officer is NOT always right.

I worry if for some reason I ever need an officer or ambulance to come to my residence and I am not able to put my dogs up what they would do. Both Akasha and Keil are very friendly but there is no way I could guarantee that they would let strangers in my house. Luckily if I need a trooper most of them know Akasha and Keil (who love everyone in a trooper uniform) so that would hopefully not be a problem. ;) :D