This month in doggycide

I had been planning to keep tabs on the latest police-shoot-dog cases as they came up, but there’s been so bloody many of them that they’ve become impossible to keep up with. So, in an effort to cleanse my slate a little, here’s a rundown of only some of the incidents (that we’ve heard of) that took place around the United States in the last twenty days alone.

Shadow

September 03: Horry County, South Carolina officer chooses to shoot and kill a potentially “dangerous” pitbull after it escapes through a hole in the fence, despite having been warned beforehand and being equipped with non-lethal repellants. Angry owners plan to file a complaint.

September 07: Oakland Park, Virginia off-duty K-9 officer shoots and wounds a Great Pyrenees that allegedly “attacked” his police dog. Owner denies any aggression took place, and now faces a court date for having his dog off his leash (even though it was in his fenced yard and only escaped when his 4-year-old accidentally left the gate open.)

Smokey

September 16: El Dorado, Illinois officer shoots and kills a German Shepherd he claims “attacked” him. Despite being chained in its backyard. Better: Officer came to the wrong house. The case is now under investigation.

September 12: Waianae, Hawaii officer shoots and kills a large bulldog after it reportedly jumped a fence and scared a man and his young grandson. One eyewitness says the dog wasn’t being aggressive. Owner is angry that the cop chose to kill his pet rather than use non-lethal force. Oddly, the local humane society says that “police shooting dogs is extremely rare”. In Hawaii, perhaps.

Griz

September 15: Newton, Iowa police are investigating after shooting dead a family pitbull who slipped his leash and allegedly allege attacked them and another man. The owners deny the dog showed any such supposed aggression.

September 17: Hamlet, Indiana officer guns down a pitbull/boxer mix puppy in panicky “self-defense” after it allegedly attacked him. Owners and neighbors angrily disagree.

And here are two bonus additions:

Penny

August 09: Albion, Iowa deputy shoots a bulldog in her own yard because he “felt threatened”, though the owners (who saw the whole thing) say the dog was only barking at him after he showed up unannounced. Penny was too gravely injured and had to be euthanized.

And finally, two supposedly “aggressive” dogs (including a brown Labrador Retriever) were shot & killed when police responded to false home alarms in Shelbyville, Kentucky and Smyrna, Georgia.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a good book I desperately need to get lost in.

(all reports via Dogs Shot by Police | Facebook)

Tags: pitbulls • Luke the Labrador Retriever • Shadow the pitbull • Horry County Police Department • Chief the Great Pyrenees • Accomack County Sheriff's Department • Eric Ellerbe • Zachary Widgeon • Waianae Police Department • Griz the pitbull • Jeri Fahrenkrug • Newton Police Department • Smokey the German Shepherd • El Dorado Police Department • Rosco the pitbull boxer mix • Hamlet Police Department • Penny the bulldog • Marshall County Sheriff's Department • Smyrna Police Department