It's hard to imagine that he felt genuinely threatened by a miniature dachshund, but I dunno...depending on his clothing there might have been a danger of getting bit. If the dog was aggressive then this is really unfortunate and probably unnecessary but, perhaps, not heinous.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I'm all for the police being able to defend themselves, but a dachshund was a serious threat to life?
Supposedly because the officer feared it might have rabies, which is BS because 1) the police isn't a vet, and 2) the animal control could have checked the dog and if it did have rabies, he could have gotten a shot and suffered no ill effects.
This kind of behavior can't be accepted, because police officers can't just go around shooting as a first response to minor danger.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
Cops can shoot your dog if it attacks you.
Like, I mean, they can shoot it with their firearm. Used to happen pretty frequently.
Posted by Flying Fish (Member # 12032) on :
If you read the comments on the WDBJ site, a lot of people said they'd have shot the policeman.
I once had a spot next to an animal control officer at a school career day. (In my town these are regular cops with special trucks and equipment). He said he get's way more grief when he comes to pick up an animal than when he comes to take a child out of a household, and he's more likely to get violent resistance.
"Take my kid, but leave my dog!"
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
If your dog is barking/lunging at the police officer in or near your home, might be a good time to grab them and put them inside or in another room.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
"The dog breed most likely to bite was...the Dachshund. And second was the Chihuahua, followed by the Jack Russell Terrier."
Posted by scholarette (Member # 11540) on :
The dog biting doesn't surprise me. Based on people I know, if you have a big dog, you train and train and train because if that dog bites, he'll injure/kill someone and likely be put to sleep. But if a little dachshund bites, eh, who cares.
Posted by Samprimary (Member # 8561) on :
yeah, I went through a number of responses but the one I feel is most appropriate is to not be surprised if you have an uncontrolled dog threatening a police officer and that police officer accidentally makes the dog dead.
To reiterate as well: something does not have to be a serious and immediate threat to life to justify an officer's use of a taser.