Police Carelessness

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/09/katti-putnam-lawsuit_n_5959246.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl7%7Csec3_lnk4%26pLid%3D543335


Honestly, I am so tired of seeing stories like these. It is not the first article I have read where a cop shoots a civilian's dog, the only difference with this one is, the dog survived. Most of them don't. In the below article, the dog dies. To give a brief rundown of the first story, cops broke into the wrong home looking for a fugitive and then shot the 15 year old dog in the back yard. He fired one shot at her, hitting her face, and then a second, which missed. The owner threw herself between the cop and the dog, yelling that it was the wrong house. The cops then realized they had the wrong address and told the owners they would take care of it. And they never did. The owners are now suing for vet bills, and the cops will not return phone calls.

This is one of several stories like it, and I hate reading them. Cops break into the wrong home, kill the dog, and then leave, or shoot a dog simply because its in close proximity. It's ridiculous.

Just because there is a dog present does not mean it is going to attack. And even if the dog is barking and growling, it doesn't take rocket science to figure out the dog is viewing officers as home invaders and are simply trying to protect themselves or their home-certainly nothing to deserve being killed. Cops need to stop being so darn trigger happy and use their brains to properly handle situations like this.

They need to be taught how to handle dogs that they face humanely and without resorting to killing them. It is my belief that at least one officer should be equipped with a tranquilizer and equipment to handle dogs (muzzles, leashes) so they can secure them in a safe area (a closet, a bedroom, a kennel in the back of a car) while other officers do their work. That way, no innocent animals would be harmed.

K9 Officers are given Human status almost, and if someone shoots/harms them, they get in even bigger trouble. While I agree these dogs are heroes in their own right, they are not much different than regular people's dogs. They are capable of defending their owners, capable of giving just as much love and affection. The only difference is they are specially trained and cost a lot of money. Why do Officer's dogs get treated as more important than a regular civilian dog?

I am not a cop-hater, or someone who thinks we need to get rid of all the police, but I am tired of seeing such careless behavior, and seemingly no remorse on the part of the Officers. And I am certainly tired of seeing no attempts to fix these issues.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/23/lexie-dog-shooting_n_5614051.html