San Mateo cops kill dogs in park; family outraged

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(09-27) 14:29 PDT SAN MATEO -- A San Mateo family expressed outrage today that police shot and killed their two dogs after they escaped and started barking at children at a park.

Police countered that the animals were vicious and that one of them hadn't been slowed even after being jolted with a Taser stun gun.

Carla Torres, 38, said her two boxers, a female named Bella and a male named Jordan, may have been loose and loud at Laurie Meadows Park on Monday, but that there was no reason for officers to shoot the animals.

"I wish the police would have waited for animal control," Torres said. "I don't think they should have shot the dogs."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/27/BA5T1LAA1A.DTL

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The top comments on the website support the police decision and say that the dogs deserved it: "These irresponsible pet owners need to get a clue. You do not wait until the dog bites someone to take action. If you don't want your dogs subject to being impounded, tazed or shot, keep your dogs under control. I love dogs, but I also know this. If you can't control your dog, keep him at home. Don't expect people to be ok with your out-of-control dog putting their kids at risk in a public park." Really? Have we become so paranoid that we need to call the police on loud dogs?

[KamaAina]

1. Why do Bay Area cops hate dogs so much?

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-10-01/bay-area/24106224...

Mary Kate Hallock arrived at her Oakland hills home after running errands Tuesday and found a blue note fluttering on her front door.

"Oakland police responded to your residence to investigate a burglar alarm," the handwritten note read. "While circling the rear perimeter, lab advanced on officers in a threatening manner before being shot and killed."

"Lab" was Gloria, an 11-year-old, arthritic yellow Labrador Hallock's family had owned since she was a puppy. Oakland police shot Gloria three times with a 40-caliber Glock handgun in the family's backyard while responding to a false burglar alarm at the property. The dog, police said, growled and barked at them.

"I probably read that note 10 times," Hallock, an Oakland preschool teacher, said Thursday. "I was incredulous. Gloria's never bit anyone. She's just a gentle old dog, a classic Lab, always wagging her tail."

Heaven help us if a dog somehow strays onto BART! :scared:

[EFerrari]

21. My dog had a permit to ride BART with me

but that was before the BART Police lost their minds and started killing people.

[xchrom]

2. Cops pretty much love to shoot peoples dogs.

It's a covenant way of saying 'keep in line'.

[michaz]

3. Like animal abusers...it is a power thing. n/t

[RevStPatrick]

4. So, there's a bunch of kids in the playground...

...with their mommies, and they look over and see a couple of doggies running toward them, barking.
The next thing they see is the doggies getting shot and dying in a pool of blood next to the playground.

Great job, coppers!

[provis99]

17. did you even read the article?

People in the park had to put themselves between these vicious dogs and little kids to keep them from attacking the kids.

And the idiot owner, rather than controlling her vicious dogs, sits around and waits for animal control to show up?

these dogs died because of the stupidity and callousness of the owner.

[hlthe2b]

5. They were wrong not to have the dogs under their control...very wrong..

That said, so many people are not teaching their children (and they themselves are intensely ignorant about dogs and how to interact with a strange dog) that this just leaves me desperately depressed. Those cops were obviously among those who need to receive even a modicum of education about animal behavior and body language. Barking is not, by itself, conclusive of aggressive behavior.

I'll relate one story of my own that has stayed with me. My previous dog, a gentle loving soulful female Yellow Labrador accompanied me on so many weekend hikes in her years with me, I still sometimes feel as though she is at my side. Always on a leash, but energetically bounding several yards ahead of me. In her 12 years of life, she was never anything but the most gentle animal you could ever want. More than once interceded to warn a distracted parent of their child's wandering close to the lake's edge. She was instinctively protective and intensely "human-loyal."

I say this to only explain why I still burn with anger when one hot summer day we encountered a troupe of three teenaged girls bounding down the trail that we were ascending, and with their loud squealing and gesticulating suddenly changing into ear piercing screams about 15 yards away from us. What had caused this intense "fear?" MERELY seeing my dog. My dog had stopped in her tracks and was merely looking at them with the most puzzled look as they kept up with their uncontrollable and unceasing screams. By this time, I think they were having a rather good time of it, but of course they would maintain that they were "scared." I kept trying to ask them what the problem was and could only gather that one or more of them was afraid of dogs and the others were feeding off her ridiculous reaction. The trail was narrow and they were refusing to move. As they were upsetting not only ME but my dog after a few minutes of this, we finally just doubled back on the trail to a pretty nasty ravine sufficiently distant, waited a half hour or so and then resumed. To my utter amazement, we were met about an hour later by a state park ranger, who recited a litany of complaints from these girls who "claimed my dog had threatened them." It only took a few minutes (fortunately) for the ranger to see the situation for what it was--and he apologized profusely as we departed. Now, what might have happened with cops as those described in that San Mateo park?

[sulphurdunn]

6. It's a good thing for the cops

that the dogs can't shoot back. Truth is there are far too many knuckle walkers wearing badges and carrying guns. Think about it. How many people would shoot your dog rather than just say 'nice doggie" and back away? People who do what these guys did are seriously fucked up. Watch out, because they're as likely to shoot you or your kids as your dog if they think they can get away with it or if the old adrenaline gets pumping and reacts with roids they take to do muscle ballooning.

[KamaAina]

8. That's right! If the dogs had all had guns, this wouldn't have happened!

:sarcasm:

[Tom Ripley]

7. Roid rage meets Rover

[leftyladyfrommo]

9. That's sickening. But two boxers can look very intimidating.

When you own dogs like that you have to be so careful to not let them get out - ever. Since all of the problems with pitbulls attacking people everyone has gotten really afraid of loose dogs. I am and I'm a petsitter and I walk dogs. If was out walking a dog and two boxers charged me barking it would scare me to death. That is a horrible situation to be in.

All of the cops I know really like dogs. They usually own several. That's not to say they wouldn't shoot one if they felt threatened.

[shanti]

13. boxers

are sweet, smart dogs. they are NOT pit bulls!

[Plucketeer]

10. So what????

The dogs have to bite the kids first before the cops are justified in intervening?
I live in California and we have leash laws in our county. That said, I'm constantly dealing with dogs on our property - dogs that I KNOW have owners. Now tell me WHY I should have to invest in fences to keep other folks pets out? A big dog comes running and barking at me, I'm not gonna offer it my hand to see if it's bluffing.

These boxer owners? They were careless and carelessness has consequences. Consequences they may not like.

[Devil_Fish]

11. I side with the cops on this one. I have a two year old. we have leash laws in CA.

This wouldn't even be news in Texas. In Texas if a dog gets out it is shot on sight.

I have to pick up my two year old even when dogs are on a leash. It is never OK for an owner to tell me "don't worry, he is friendly." I don't fucking care, Keep your dog away from my child. I have had friends who's dogs have simply out of the blue turned on their owner's 10 year old kid and literally ripped his face off. I have had neighbors attacked by "Yard Dogs", and the owner excuses their dogs behavior and blames the victim for walking down the wrong street at the wrong time.

I understand that you love your dog, but if you love your dog, keep him on a leash, or behind a tall fence. If your dog gets out and threatens my child, I will kill him my self with my bare hands. Before you start up with that "My dog is sweet" Bull Shit, Let me just say this: If your dog is barking and growling, and approaching my child, there is no amount of you talking that will prevent me from protecting my child with lethal force if necessary.

In short, Yes. After the recent cases of dogs killing people, we have become so paranoid that we need to call the police on un-leashed, un-muzzled large dogs running freely in a public park where children are playing, and no, the cops do not have to wait for a kid to get bitten before they shoot the un-controlled dog. Further more, the dog owner should be fined for the un-controlled dog as well as the price of the bullets.

You think this is harsh? To Fucking Bad.

[mainegreen]

22. You're in the minority here.

It's too bad, because you're right.

When it's kid's safety vs unleashed dogs, you have to take the kid's side, by a large margin of safety.

And of course if your dog isn't on a leash in a public place, barring the odd 'dog park', you don't get to say anything, as anything that happens to your dog or because of your dog is 100% your fault.

If you want to let your pets roam free, get a cat.

[TorchTheWitch]

26. [phone]

I fucking hate people who let their uncontrolled dogs run loose especially when they're RIGHT THERE and refuse to do a damn thing to stop their charging dog.

[Lasher]

30. Some people like to watch their dogs intimidate other people.

If people are standing by doing nothing to control their aggressive dogs, that might be the reason why.

[tabasco]

12. Coward assholes.

Sickening.

[FreeBillClinton]

14. I was attacked by a boxer as a child.

It jumped over a six foot fence and chewed up my leg before my father got it off me.

[LetTimmySmoke]

15. It's a sad situation, but the cop did the right thing.

What if it was your kid there?

[Throd]

16. Too bad the dogs were killed, but Torres allowed it to happen.

[go west young man]

18. Does it not occur to the pro dog killing people in this thread

that animals as well as people could easily be tranquilized? How much would it cost to
put a tranquilizer gun in a cop car? Very fucking little. A lot less than say 2 trillion in wasted war dollars.
The fact is cops in America shoot to kill so ignorant people like yourselves will stay in line and respect their "authoriti!"
Judging from these posts I'm reading you guys are seriously soaking up the BS. No matter what the animal is doing
it could be tranquilized instantly. America just accepts and doesn't question this crap.

[truthisfreedom]

19. How would they know what dosage to deliver?

Doesn't every person/animal require a different dose based on weight?

[go west young man]

23. Yet the dose of a bullet is fatal anyways. It's like weighing apples and oranges.

One you may live the other you die. A dose that works for an average to large weight could easily be found.
Our society is so dumbed down we don't even consider alternatives to not killing.

[Lasher]

28. The cops tried using their Taser stun guns, which didn't stop the dogs.

That was as prudent as they needed to be.

[Xithras]

25. Tranquilizers are NOT instant.

In Hollywood world, you shoot an animal with a dart and they go down right away. In the real world, tranqs can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to knock the animal out, depending on where it's hit and what the dosage is. If you watch some wildlife documentaries, you'll find that it's not uncommon for researchers to spend hours tracking animals after they're hit with tranquilizers.

A dose high enough to knock them out quickly anywhere is likely to kill them in most spots. A dose that's safe enough for general administration anywhere on the animals body probably won't react fast enough to knock them out quickly in an emergency situation. When you're faced with a vicious dog, you don't want to shoot them with something that will knock them out in 20-30 minutes.

[Devil_Fish]

27. For the record, I'm not pro dog killing, I'm pro dog control and public safety.

Cops are not vet's and should not be expected to carry tranq guns on their person or even in their car. as was posted down thread, Tranq's are not instant. and in the OP, it is stated that a tazer did not stop the dog.

If you love your dog, control your dog. If your dog approaches my child in a threatening manner, I won't waste time calling the cops, I will kill it my self with my bare hands. I don't hate dogs, and have never had to kill a dog. I hope I never have to. I love my child. If necessary I would die protecting her, and you can be damn sure I would kill the dog before I went.

The one point we can agree on is the wasted war dollars.

[EFerrari]

20. I hope this stupid frickin idiot woman takes better care of her daughter. n/t

[MicaelS]

24. I usually criticize cops for shooting dogs, but not this time..

Based on what I'm reading in the link, the shooting appears justified. And the problem isn't dogs, or even cats, it's irresponsible pet owners. Pet owners who regard THEIR dog or cat as a human child who never grows up, thus remaining eternally dependent on the owner. Pet owners who feel everyone else should regard their animal as a human child. And yes, we should call the police on animals who appear to be threatening children or adults. I don't give a damn if an animal owner thinks their pet is a human being, the animal is not. If it's a choice between human and animal I chose human. Aren't we supposed to be the party of "putting PEOPLE first"? Or that doesn't apply when it's cuddly, wuddly, little Fido, or Flower who would "never" hurt a fly?

[Lasher]

29. Most of the time people think their own dogs won't bite.

This is often a false assumption. I used to work as a telephone man, so we had lots of encounters with dogs. One day one of our installers approached a house with a yapping dog. As was usually the case, the owner said, "Don't worry, Fluffy won't bite." Fluffy was literally hanging on his pant leg with her teeth at the very moment the owner was speaking these words.