Police shoot dog in St. Pete: stupid human error

When I read this story in the St. Pete paper, I was sad for the dog's owner. The reason I was sad for the owner is because she had absolutely nothing to do with the death of her dog. Her dog was in a fence and the neighbors, who were drinking and arguing, let the dog out. A police officer was investigating a disturbance call about the couple and the dog came charging. Police officer shot the dog. The man is now sorry, the owner doesn't fault the officer but the dog is still dead.

Police officers shoot dogs more often than what I consider normal. I have written on this subject before and I haven't changed my mind. I think there are many officers doing a very tough job who are too quick to reach for a gun when they have other tools at their disposal. I do not claim to know what the officer was feeling but because they have mace, a baton and a heavy flashlight I simply find it horrible they used a gun first. I know a lot of officers, some are in my family and I cannot imagine any of the officers I know ever pulling a gun on a dog. An armed thief, a psychotic, drug addled murderer, or a human coming at them with a weapon could all be reasons to use their gun, but dog is simply not one of them.

So once again, a loved pet loses his life because of stupid human error. Stupid on the part of the guy who was yelling, stupid on the part of the guy and his girlfriend who let the dog out and stupid on the part of the police officer. No a beloved pet is no more and his Mom did absolutely nothing wrong.