# Police & your dogs



## Steve Estrada (Mar 6, 2011)

http://www.examiner.com/article/a-p...on-keeping-your-dog-safe-from-law-enforcement 
Found this to be interesting. Kind of appears as common sense :-\" which seems to me to be extinct! This is being responsible & for no other word I can express it would seem courteous if not respectful towards those that serve & protect.


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Interesting indeed. There have been some recent encounters that were public relations nightmares. Whether the officer(s) involved were right or wrong really didn't matter. If a dog ends up getting shot, it's still a p/r night mare. There was a much publicized incident in TN a few years ago. Of course the whole story was never told, conclusions were jumped too and the media had a field day. Even though it wasn't a Trooper that shot the dog, it was still a p/r nightmare. We ended up having a representative from one of the national humane societies give a four-hour class to every Trooper. 

DFrost


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

re: "Her name is Cheryl Goede and she not only has firsthand insight as a police officer, but she is also an experienced dog owner. Cheryl collaborated with her husband, Kevin, who has 20 years of law enforcement background in addition to being a dog trainer, and Cindy Earnshaw, a journalist and former LEO/Animal Control officer. "

based on that combined background i was hoping for a little more beef in that burger 
...expect the worst ??? ...no brainer there 

my experience has been that there are a LOT of pet owners who are deathly afraid their (uncontrollable w/ poor OB skills) dog might get shot if it got loose around a LEO :-( .... i know four or five, and i'm not talking Ja owners

tragic when it happens, and i'm sure some are justified, but unfortunately common sense is usually the first thing to go when lights are flashing and police are rushing around
...based on this alone, i would consider most of the responsibility in these situations has to be on LE and they need to be damn careful about aiming a weapon at a dog. they are the professionals trained to maintain common sense in a high stress situations, and they are the ones with the weapons 

and if a LEO is afraid of dogs, they might be in the wrong line of work imo 

YES, I wholeheartedly support our law enforcement personnel ... just my two pennies


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

Years ago I had a GSD that was used as a guard dog. He was on a long cable at home one night when I heard him going balistic. Got up and went out and he had two county sheriffs cornered between the house and the barn but his cable wouldn't reach. He was one of those thinking dogs that would lay quietly until you had no way out. The house was next door to a bar and they were looking for someone involved in an altercation. I asked them what they were doing creeping around the house. Never got an answer. They both had revolvers out and just told me to contain the dog or they would shoot him. I always did like dogs that would just lay quietly and give no warning.....but....the wrong ones for them to corner is armed sherrifs. LOL Nice dog so I put him up. Almost forgot about that dog. Name was Toughie. Had a boxer with the same nature....just lay there in the dark until there was no way out.


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## catherine hardigan (Oct 12, 2009)

Apparently, there was an incident in Texas that has gotten a lot of attention and was the partial impetus of the article. 

An officer responded to the wrong house on a domestic disturbance call. The resident of the mistaken address was playing frisbee with his dog in the yard. While the officer had the man at gunpoint the dog returned and began barking at the officer. The man yelled for the officer not to shoot his dog, saying that the dog doesn't bite. The officer shot the dog.

The man said that he was unable to physically restrain the dog because he was being held at gunpoint.


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## rick smith (Dec 31, 2010)

if it went down that way, too bad "that man" didn't have the common sense to STFU and GO TO HIS DOG and present a human target to interfere with their line of fire and kept em both alive rather than shout at the police. ](*,)](*,)
...and of COURSE this is just another horror story that has a few sides that i don't want to hear about ](*,)](*,)
...oddly enuff SHxt happens all the time 
and common sense goes out the window with stress ](*,)](*,)

not related....but my dad had a serious stroke and i moved in for awhile taking care of him
he also had seizures
all the bros/sisters went to (caregiver) training on how to deal with it and learn it was not nearly as bad as it looked ... and they all got the training on how to handle it safely
- so sure enuff, a couple of em were with me the next time he had one 
...INSTANT PANIC....training out the FKing window and no one wanted to calm down and let it run it's course
(like we used to say in the navy..."everybody talk; nobody listen")
.... immediate 911 calls by the two sisters ... EMT's show up and grab his (very weak)bad arm while securing him and freak him out even worse .... end result - 3hrs of unnecessary stress on my dad at the ER that he didn't need to go thru ](*,)](*,)

"educate" pet owners to deal calmly with a live LEO incident ?
.... good luck [-(
...i'll still put my trust in the cops


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## mel boschwitz (Apr 23, 2010)

As a LEO who has tromped thru many a wood looking for bad guys, if I see a fence I assume dog on other side. Of course, there isnt always one, but easier to assume there is.

For whatever reason I rarely have trouble with dogs. To the point that the rest of my shift will call me to "deal" with dogs. A lot of my male counterparts seem to bring out the worst in some dogs.

I am not for or against shooting a dog in the right situation, and I WILL go home safe at the end of every shift.


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## JOHN WINTERS (Mar 5, 2010)

rick smith said:


> if it went down that way, too bad "that man" didn't have the common sense to STFU and GO TO HIS DOG and present a human target to interfere with their line of fire and kept em both alive rather than shout at the police. ](*,)](*,)


 
Rick, couldn't disagree with you more on this. In today's day and age failure to yeild to a LEO, especially one with a gun drawn and pointed at you, is an excellent way to get yourself shot. I live in Austin where this incident occured and it is tragic, wrong address, guy playing with his dog in his own yard, dog unleashed playing frisbee and the dog unfortunately intimidated the officer . The facts are that many departments (APD included) do not have any training on how to deal with dog's that they view as being a hazard, I run into many LEO's that are intimidated by my dog and would not hesitate to put him down rather than taking a chance he might actually attack. This is not the first incident where a pet owners dog has been killed needlessly in Austin. The police cheif at the time promised to include training at the acadamy and ongoing officer training. This never occured and still doesn't. 

The following week after this incident a APD officer was shot and killed by a drunk shoplifter in WalMart, a tradgedy felt by all. While the 2 events are independent, I would be less likely to present myself as a "human target" anywhere in the immediate future. JMPO


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

rick smith said:


> and if a LEO is afraid of dogs, they might be in the wrong line of work imo
> 
> )


I understand it's just your opinion, but I do differ with it. I googled pit bull attacks on animal control and LEO, I just don't want to put links on the forum. There are some pretty nasty events. If an officer has worked with someone that has had that happen, or has been involved in an apprehension where someone was bitten severely, it gives them a different perspective. I have been bitten severely, both bones in my right arm broken. A tooth penetrated my radius and split it like a wedge in a log. I've have had three surgeries because of that bite. I'll never regain full strength. I'm not afraid of dogs, however, I feel a dog is going to attack me, it will be DRT. 

DFrost


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## Don Turnipseed (Oct 8, 2006)

I think all LE officers would be aware that dogs won't bite without training.....especially pet dogs. :wink:


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## Brett Bowen (May 2, 2011)

Lots of "people" not just cops are afraid of dogs. Cops are people too. In fact went to an alarm call one time and my assist comes RUNNING from the back yard yelling something about a dog and he's certain the back is secure. I look over the fence, that dog probably held the world record for the oldest Lab with the most arthritis. He didn't walk, he hobbled, and he was just lying on the ground wondering who was interrupting his nap. He struggled his way up and brought a ball to me to play, probably would have taken him all day to make it across the yard if I had thrown it more than 3 feet. I still tease him about that, he made it sound like he was about to get bit.


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## Nicole Stark (Jul 22, 2009)

ha ha, he probably thought it was a Neo. Gotta love old dogs.


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Nicole Stark said:


> ha ha, he probably thought it was a Neo. Gotta love old dogs.



Gee wizz thanks Nicole! :grin:........:-k...........Oh wait!.................. Nevermind!.... 8-[


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## Joby Becker (Dec 13, 2009)

Nicole Stark said:


> ha ha, he probably thought it was a Neo. Gotta love old dogs.


that was funny.
The guy around the corner has a decent looking neo bitch...under 2 yrs old, still moves nice...glad he is NOT one of the people that lets his dogs run around with no leash...happened one time, she came out to the street edge, and he called her back and she came, luckliy for us...


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

deleted to avoid derailing thread, on request of poster


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

deleted to avoid derailing thread, on request of poster


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

deleted to avoid derailing thread, on request of poster


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

deleted to avoid derailing thread, on request of poster


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## Christopher Jones (Feb 17, 2009)

deleted to avoid derailing thread, on request of poster


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