sluj Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Police shoot 'menacing' family pet. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../BA341FMDDO.DTL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 The link came up with a blank page for me... Is this the story? Woman arrives home to learn police shot family dog Posted at 03:53 AM on Friday, Oct. 01, 2010 The Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. -- An Oakland woman says her 11-year-old arthritic yellow Labrador was gentle and had never bitten anyone. But police responding to a burglar alarm at a home say the dog growled and barked at them, and they feared she was about to attack. So one of the officers fired three rounds - at least one of which struck the dog in the head, killing her. Mary Kate Hallock says it happened Tuesday as she was running errands. She arrived home to find a note on the door from police explaining what had happened. Police wrote that the dog, named Gloria, had "advanced on officers in a threatening manner." Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason tells the San Francisco Chronicle his heart goes out to Hallock's family, but he defended the shooting as necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted October 1, 2010 Report Share Posted October 1, 2010 Yeah, well, what do the police expect when they enter someone's home when the owners are not present? Most dogs would bark and growl! A few simple words of kindness and some non threatening body language goes a long way. Given their job description, which includes rushing into people's homes, I would think some training on how to handle dogs is a good idea for police, firefighters, paramedics, etc. On the other side of the issue, a postal worker was badly mauled by a GSD left alone in the yard while the owners were gone. The dog broke through a weak fence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyTDogs Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Yeah that's as bad as the one here last week. I think the owners may have been foolish but I just can't imagine standing there watching the cops shoot my dog- and me! http://www.wesh.com/news/25150545/detail.html Cindy in FL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana A Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 So if the police couldn't get into the yard to reach the house because of a 'threatening' dog, they honestly thought there was a burglar in there???? And they had to get in SO badly right that moment that shooting the dog was the only option? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted October 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 That's the one Geonni - thanks for catching it. I (think I) fixed the link. Cindy - I'm still trying to work out the math of a 32 year old woman having a 6 year old grandson, but yeah, it's a pretty surreal story all around. This just seems to fit with the general trend of a larger segment of society having no clue how to read or react to animals. Cops should definitely get some kind of animal awareness class as part of their training. I thought I read somewhere that postal workers did get some such training, but I don't recall where. One thing I can say for a certainty is that my dog would behave in a hostile and menacing manner to strangers entering my house during my absence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 OK So I'm veering off topic a tiny bit. We have a nice postal lady. She rides in her car and stays in it. I was meeting her for the first time (always be nice to your postal worker) and we were chatting, me all nice voiced. Dew comes whipping around from the back yard (I forgot they were out) and hear's my nice voice. She actually runs around to the passenger side of the car and jumps right in the open window. She is sure from my voice that this lady is a wonderful lady and really really wants to meet her. Nice postal lady screams then laughs telling me she's not afraid of dogs but never had one jump in her car before. I'm totally red faced appoligizing running to get her out. It was all good. Then Lilly(LGD) was laying in the front yard one day when she had a package to deliver and she actually drives up on my carport/porch yelling out her window "hey, you home?" I come right out (who the heck is on my porch in their car?) and she smiles and says..."I know the black dogs are freindly but not sure bout that big white one" I sheepishly laugh and tell her not only is she quite sweet but that I swear she won't jump in her car! The ups guy has to shut his sliding door or my dogs want to go for a ride with the nice guy that has big doggy treats. I feel blessed to have such good utility and delivery workers and that my postal lady is great too. On a sadder note, a friend of DD's had 2 very sweet pitties. someone opened thier backyard gate and they got out. THere is a school near by and the dogs headed up to the school, the kids happened not to be out but I'm sure the dogs had heard the kids before so went looking to play with them. (family is loaded with young children) Cops were called and both dogs were shot even though they had not menanced anyone, it was on the just in case and becasue the school was right there. My heart goes out to the family but I also think the lesson is NEVER leave your dogs unattended out side unless in a secure kennel or locked gates, even then things can happen. It made national news and unfortunatly no one came out looking good. Family tried to sue the cops, and the cops looked bad but I really can't blame them for doing what they thought they had to do. I do think postal workers might be given limited instructions on how to deal with dogs but I don't think the police are and they are the ones that really need it. I always wonder if my super sweet (to humans) dogs would be more aggressive if I wasn't home and someone tried to come in the house, or if I was scared and they got the energy vibe that the person by me wasn't that nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 On a sadder note, a friend of DD's had 2 very sweet pitties. someone opened thier backyard gate and they got out. THere is a school near by and the dogs headed up to the school, the kids happened not to be out but I'm sure the dogs had heard the kids before so went looking to play with them. (family is loaded with young children) Cops were called and both dogs were shot even though they had not menanced anyone, it was on the just in case and becasue the school was right there. My heart goes out to the family but I also think the lesson is NEVER leave your dogs unattended out side unless in a secure kennel or locked gates, even then things can happen. It made national news and unfortunatly no one came out looking good. Family tried to sue the cops, and the cops looked bad but I really can't blame them for doing what they thought they had to do. Here's another vote in favor of cops receiving mandatory training in reading "dog language". What a shame they didn't call animal control instead. I always wonder if my super sweet (to humans) dogs would be more aggressive if I wasn't home and someone tried to come in the house, or if I was scared and they got the energy vibe that the person by me wasn't that nice. All of my Border collies have been total marshmallows. Never met a stranger. But... with the first one, a meter reader came into our back yard and accidentally knocked over my little brother (a toddler at the time), making him cry. The dog instantly changed from friendly pup to menace and tried to jump him. With my second Border collie, I used to say she'd make a terrible watchdog because she was so friendly. Then one night a roommate had some friends come to visit. As they were arriving very late, they entered the house quietly so as not to wake anyone up. I'd forgotten to lock up my dog. We were all awakened in the middle of the night to the sounds of furious, deadly-sounding barking. Went into the living room and turned on the lights. Molly had the visitors pinned in a corner. She sounded so ferocious that they had no idea it was only a 35-pound Border collie holding them hostage in the pitch dark. As soon as we got there she dropped the pose and wanted to be friends. I fully believe either of these dogs would have behaved aggressively to tense police officers entering their homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejano Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 I know my dogs act differently when I'm not home...Robin was in his crate, but I had left Ladybug and Brodie loose in the house. A friend stopped by to leave a dish from a covered supper. Her understated remark was,"Your dogs are quite protective of your home." Robin is laid back...he doesn't bark at all. Ladybug is the town cryer and will yap when someone pulls in the driveway and Brodie follows her example, so I'm sure they put on a real show when she rang the doorbell because there was no one at home to quiet them down. Liz I always wonder if my super sweet (to humans) dogs would be more aggressive if I wasn't home and someone tried to come in the house, or if I was scared and they got the energy vibe that the person by me wasn't that nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted October 2, 2010 Report Share Posted October 2, 2010 Being just the two of us (not a lot of people in and out at all hours), we always wondered if Scooter would bark if someone came in during the night. When my nephew was living with us for a while and would get home in the wee hours of the morning, Scooter always let us know. Once he saw who it was, the barking stopped. Good boy! Scary though to think that could get him killed, just doing what he's supposed to do. Seems like the police in our area are way too eager to shoot and/or taser--human or animal. Troubling trend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sluj Posted October 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Some followup, with good news for a change: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/12/BA9P1FRQAF.DTL Starting next month, Oakland police officers will receive mandatory training in dog and wildlife behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alchemist Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Some followup, with good news for a change: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/10/12/BA9P1FRQAF.DTL Starting next month, Oakland police officers will receive mandatory training in dog and wildlife behavior. Thanks for posting this - I'm REALLY glad to hear that they're going to get training! Only... I'm sorry that the $40-$50K/year annual cost is going to come out of the SPCA's budget. I'd have voted to have the taxpayers cover it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 I'm certain dogs can read the "goodness" of people. On a few rare occasions in her 11 years, Seven (my hound/gsp) has growled at men. Normally everyone she meets is a friend. Most interestingly, one of them was the father of my daughter's friend. Star is also slobbery happy to see anyone. Except the other week when we were walking in the park. A man came walking by us and she barked furiously, curled lip and snarls and all. He seemed nice enough--just smiled and said "I guess she doesn't like my fishing pole"-- but I'll bet she sensed something about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 17, 2010 Report Share Posted October 17, 2010 This is, tangentially, another good reason to crate/seatbelt a dog in the car - in the case of an accident, a dog can get very protective of you and prevent emergency personnel from helping you, with dire results for the dog and/or you. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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