as Dutchess came toward the officer, he instinctively fired three gunshots into her head
This is just not a necessary action this officer had to make. Was the dog growling at him before he shot the dog? Was the dog showing signs of attacking the officer? No, therefore there is no reason to shoot a dog that is just curious of you. Truly disturbing.
The fact remains, however, that dog killings are a problem, one that brings lot of unnecessary pain to families and their pet
It puts a lot of stress and anxiety on a family for no reason at all! This can be prevented, it causes too much heart ache for more and more people.
Yet it happens all the time: Sometimes dogs are killed when police enter a house to seize drugs, but just as often it seems they die when officers have the wrong information entirely. In July, police in Topeka, Kan., killed the dog of a retired judge when they entered his back yard on a false burglary call, and in 2008 Maryland police notoriously raided a mayor’s house and killed his dogs, on the mistaken belief that he was part of a drug ring.
This is why there needs to be procedures on how to handle dogs in these situations. There needs to be someone who works with aggressive dogs and knows how to keep them under control. Also this is why officers need to know that their information is entirely correct before barging in on the wrong people/house.
“Do not leave your dog outside unattended,” it warns, as if any unwatched moment could mean a dog’s death at the hands of police
This is just not fair. So if your dog accidently escapes and runs out of the house, not harming anyone, and a police officer happens to drive by, is he going to shoot the dog? What gives him the right to shoot a dog that is not harming anyone?
concluding that police shot 92 dogs in a three-year period, with a single officer responsible for 26 shootings
There obviously needs to be an intervention or an investigation on that police officer who was responsible for the 26 dog shootings.
dogs are killed by police on a regular basis.
This is why we have dog shelters. There are people trained to take care of an aggressive dog or a scared one. That does not mean police officers can go shooting anyone's dogs just because they feel "threatened". There are other ways to deal with these dogs, killing them is not the answer.