Category: Grrr

Dog with Injured Leg Shot to Death by Police Officers

JULY 23, 2015 UPDATE: Disturbing details about the shooting of Buster, a 14-year-old Pit Bull, have surfaced.

The city of Alton, Ill., let its one animal control officer go last week. Starting yesterday, its police department took over those duties, even though the officers had no training in how to deal with animals.

That same day, two of those police officers shot and killed a Pit Bull mix only because he had an injured leg.

According to several comments on the KMOV.com Facebook page, the dog had been hit by a car and was limping outside a Family Dollar store. Two women called animal control. The police officers who arrived coaxed the dog into their squad car, telling the women and a few other onlookers they were taking him to a veterinarian.

The officers initially said the veterinarian euthanized the dog, according to various Facebook commenters. But when asked for the name of the vet, the officers admitted they shot the dog themselves.

“They felt there was no other alternative, so they took the dog in and euthanized the dog with their weapons,” Jackie Spiker, co-founder of the nonprofit Hope Animal Rescues, told KMOV.com.

“It was the first full day [animal control] was dropped in the lap of the Alton Police Department and it was chaos.”

Public Information Officer Emily Hejna insists Alton’s police officers really do love animals.

“I think it is a very unfortunate situation,” she told KMOV.com. “Our officers are not trained animal control officers and they make decisions with the information they have been given.”

According to Illinois’ Animal Control Act (and common sense and decency, it would seem), an injured dog should not be shot multiple times. The dog should be taken to a veterinarian, who can check for a microchip and notify the dog’s owner before taking any further action.

The dog killed by the Alton police officers was microchipped.

“Let’s come up with a solution so that we can keep a functioning animal control and not put Alton police officers who are not properly trained — and that’s not their fault, they are police officers, they are not animal control officers — so that what happened to this dog never happens again,” Spiker told KMOV.com.

She and others met with Alton Police Chief Jason A. Simmons after the shooting yesterday to discuss more humane ways for officers to deal with animals. Simmons told her he was willing to work on better solutions.

Spiker will meet with Alton Mayor Brant Walker on Friday. A city council meeting tomorrow night is expected to be packed.

Across the country, far too many dogs have been shot and killed by police officers who have had no training in how to deal with them. According to Ozymandias Media, which is producing the documentary “Puppycide” on the topic, a dog is shot by law enforcement every 98 minutes.

In 2013, Colorado became the first state to pass a “Dog Protection Act,” which requires all law enforcement officers to undergo training in dealing with dogs. In May, Texas enacted a law that requires a statewide comprehensive training program in dog encounters to be created by Jan. 1, 2016.

This is a start, but as these sad statistics make clear, teaching law enforcement officers how to humanely deal with dogs should be required in every state. Officers who choose to treat dogs inhumanely should be charged with animal cruelty.

Photo via Facebook

Grrr: UPS Driver Kicks Therapy Dog, Injures Owner’s Rib

Based on a shocking video released yesterday, you might think UPS stands for Unnecessarily Pugnacious Scoundrels.

In late May, a surveillance camera outside of an assisted-living facility in Atascadero, Calif., captured a UPS driver kicking Patch, a small, 10-year-old American Eskimo dog. Patch let out a cry as she was sent tumbling backward.

When Patch’s dog dad, Timothy Paulsen, ran up to the driver, the driver shoved him in the chest, apparently dislocating and re-breaking a rib that had been previously broken in a motorcycle accident.

“This assault was completely unprovoked,” Paulsen told Cal Coast News yesterday. “I nor my dogs did anything to deserve this attack. The driver threatened to kick me as I tried to calm the situation down.”

Although Paulsen’s fist is clenched in the video, he told KSBY he was just pointing his thumb at himself in a non-threatening manner.

“It was a reaction. I said, ‘Hey man, I was sitting right there,’” Paulsen said. “And that’s when he just clobbered me.”

Paulsen regularly brings Patch and his other dog, a Scottish Terrier named Bonnie Bell, to the facility to interact with the residents, many of whom suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

A resident who asked to be identified only as Richard told Cal Coast News the dogs are always friendly. He said Patch was not acting aggressively toward the UPS driver.

“The dogs were just barking and did not attack anyone,” Richard said. “He kicked the dog twice and it screamed.”

Paulsen contacted the Atascadero Police Department and filed battery charges against the driver. Cmdr. Joe Allen told Cal Coast News the police department is preparing a report to be sent to the San Luis Obispo County district attorney’s office.

The UPS driver, who has not been identified, told police he felt threatened by Patch, who was not on a leash, and by Paulsen.

In an email to KSBY, UPS spokesman Dan Cardillo said the company trains its drivers to be cautious when confronted by dogs and to protect themselves if necessary.

However, “UPS does not condone this driver’s behavior and took disciplinary action,” Cardillo said. “We have contacted the customer and apologized.”

Cardillo did not specify what disciplinary action was taken. Paulsen told KSBY he doesn’t want the driver fired, but hopes UPS will “reevaluate” him.

“He definitely needs some sort of therapy,” Paulsen said.

Many of the comments on the Cal Coast News and KSBY stories support the UPS driver, saying he was just trying to defend himself. What do you think? Please leave a comment below.

Photo via YouTube

Why the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest Has Become Downright Ugly

On the last Friday of June every year, a pup wins the dubious “World’s Ugliest Dog” title at a contest held during the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif.

The contest organizers insist it’s all in good fun. “We celebrate the spirit and imperfections that make these dogs loveable and adoptable,” said Sarah Cummings, the contest’s CEO, in a press release.

The pet parents who enter the contest are proud of their dogs, “despite missing fur, crossed eyes, duck waddles or mismatched ears,” according to the press release. (The dogs, that is, not the pet parents.)

To qualify for the contest, dogs must have paperwork from veterinarians assuring they are healthy. A vet is also on site during the contest to check each of the contenders.

Until last year, the majority of the winners were Chinese Crested Dogs or elderly, toothless Chihuahuas. However, it’s very interesting that as of this year, the rules no longer state that dogs must be “naturally ugly.”

Perhaps that’s because the 2014 winner, Peanut, looked much different when he was born. As a puppy, Peanut was abused by his owner and suffered horrific burns in a fire.

“He doesn’t have lips anymore,” Holly Chandler, who rescued Peanut from a shelter where he’d languished for nine months, told KPIX 5 last year.

“His eyelids are also gone and he can’t close his eyes, so therefore his eyes water. The tears drain into his nose, so he has nice little snot bubbles because of it. So it’s great, that adds to his character.”

Just imagine the uproar if a two-legged burn victim won the title of “World’s Ugliest Human.”

Chandler said she entered Peanut in the contest to raise awareness for animal rescue. That’s a noble reason, but there’s got to be a better way to do this than making fun of — er, celebrating — a dog’s looks, especially when those looks are the result of abuse.

Why not a World’s Sassiest Dog contest? Or how about World’s Happiest Dog? Now, that’s a competition I would fully support.

Photo via sonoma-marinfair.org

Ohio Police Officer Aiming for Pet Dog Shoots Little Girl Instead

When a woman flagged down a police officer on a street in Whitehall, Ohio, yesterday afternoon, telling him her sister, Andrea Ellis, had cut herself, the last thing she probably expected was that her 4-year-old niece, Ava, would end up being shot by the cop.

That’s what happened when, as the unidentified police officer stood in the front doorway of the Ellis family’s house, their pet dog ran toward him.

The officer drew his gun and fired a shot at the dog. Instead, the bullet possibly ricocheted and struck Ava’s leg.

After the shooting, the officer “seemed a little disoriented, like he was really bothered,” neighbor Norman Jones, who called the police after he heard the shot, told the Columbus Dispatch.

Neighbors said the Ellis family has two dogs, who both wear electronic shock collars that prevent them from leaving the house. Police spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis told the Dispatch the dogs were put in the backyard after the incident.

According to the Columbus Division of Police Facebook page, Ava was taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in stable condition. Her mother was treated for her cut at another hospital.

Iowa Woman Killed in January by Cop Shooting at Her Dog

This is at least the second time this year that a police officer has accidentally shot a person instead of a dog.

In January, 34-year-old Autumn Steele of Burlington, Iowa, was fatally shot by officer Jesse Hill, who had been aiming for Sammy, her German Shepherd. Hill was outside Steele’s home, responding to a domestic dispute, when Sammy began growling.

Hill told Steele to get her dog. When Sammy bit him, Hill fired two rounds, striking Steele in the chest and right arm. After an investigation, Hill was cleared of criminal charges and returned to work in March, according to the Des Moines Register.

Training Cops to Humanely Deal with Pet Dogs

Sadly, police officers tend to be gun happy when dealing with pet dogs who are just doing what comes naturally — protecting their families and property.

In fact, Ozymandias Media, which is producing the documentary “Puppycide” on the topic, reports that a dog is shot by law enforcement every 98 minutes.

“When an officer shoots a pet dog, it is traumatic for the officer, the animal and the community — something we want to mitigate as much as is possible,” Madeline Bernstein, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA), said in a press release earlier this year.

In response to the shocking, viral 2013 video of a Hawthorne, Calif., police officer shooting a Rottweiler named Max as his owner begged him not to, spcaLA began offering the class, “Dog Behavior for Law Enforcement” to all police departments in California. Hawthorne police officers completed the class in January.

In 2013, Colorado became the first state to pass a “Dog Protection Act,” which requires similar training for law enforcement officers. Last month, Texas enacted a law (HB 593) that requires the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to establish a statewide comprehensive training program in dog encounters by Jan. 1, 2016.

This is a start, but as these sad statistics make clear, teaching law enforcement officers how to humanely deal with dogs should be required in every state.

Photo via Facebook

Grrr: NYC Luxury Co-op Requires DNA Tests to Determine Banned Breeds

When I saw a headline earlier today about an Upper West Side co-op in New York City requiring DNA tests for its dog tenants, I assumed the purpose was to identify poo that had not been picked up by their irresponsible pet parents. (Yes, this is a thing.)

I assumed wrong. The DNA tests are for something much more sinister.

Pet parents living in the luxury tower at 170 West End Ave. must have their veterinarians confirm the pedigree of their dogs. For mixed breeds, the vet must indicate the percentage of each breed. And if the vet is unsure of what breed(s) a dog happens to be, that dog must take a DNA test.

Why?

Because certain dogs “are not permitted to reside in the building based upon documented information regarding their tendency towards aggressiveness,” according to the new discrimination policy the co-op board sent to tenants last month.

Surprisingly, among the 27 banned breeds are small dogs, including Maltese, Pomeranians and Shih Tzu. Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, Saint Bernards and Basset Hounds are also prohibited.

Any dog who is at least 50 percent of any of the banned breeds cannot live in the building.

‘It’s Like Dog Racism’

“It’s like dog racism, essentially,” one disgruntled tenant told DNAinfo.com. “It’s beyond offensive. It’s intrusive.”

The tenant refused to be identified because, like many other pet parents in the building, he or she fears the negative publicity could affect their property values.

The co-op board president, Robert Sadin, has refused to comment on the new policy, as has the property manager, FirstService Residential.

“Mark my words, there is going to be a lawsuit for dog discrimination,” Sylvia Shapiro, a lawyer and author of the book “The New York Co-op Bible,” told DNAInfo.com.

“The problem with dogs is not the dogs, it’s the owners,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of irrational people around.”

I propose that DNA tests be required for the co-op board, based on their tendency towards ignorance.

Photo credit: sari_dennise

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