Dogs are more dangerous than most people realize. Do a google search and you will see that they are among the most common reasons for emergency room visits, and the average cost of treatment for those dog bite visits is in the thousands of dollars. It's quite astonishing how many people have to go the ER each year for a dog bite. Since I started working in WA, I have been dispatched to 4 incidents I can recall where "citizen" shot a dog, and all were clearly justified. In two cases the dog was attacking and/or had attacked their livestock, and in two other incidents the dog was directly attacking them. In no cases were arrests made or charges brought. It's within the right of ANYBODY, not just a cop, to shoot a dog in self defense or if it is on your property attacking your pets or livestock.
Ironically, I had a "vicious dog" call yesterday. Neighbor called in that his neighbors dog (pitbull/lab mix according to the animal control officer who later responded) was being very aggressive towards several persons who had walke by on the sidewalk and was an extreme menace and he was afraid to exit his house and get into his car lest he be attacked.
When I arrived, I approached the dog cautiously, and with a little command presence and verbalization, I was able to keep it at bay, open the gate to the yard it escaped from and convince it to come back into its yard. Animal Control arrived, as did the dog owners, a few minutes later and the ACO issued them a warning and they said they would keep the dog on it's leash in the yard when they weren't there, as it was clearly finding some way to leap over their fence.
The point is this is not uncommon at all - cops doing what the ordinary citizen was afraid to do - corral a dog into a yard or the backseat of his car, to await ACO's etc. and just like with other NONbleeding incidents, you won't read about it in the papers. We come into contact with dogs often several times a day (searching the backyard of a house during a burglary alarm, and in tons other circ's) and most cops go their entire career , which includes hundreds of such contacts, without ever shooting a dog. Sometimes, though, it's necessary. I posted two videos that clearly show dogs attacking cops before they shot and where it was clearly justified.
I love dogs. I;m not sure I could shoot one, even if it was attacking me, and again I have been attacked by a dog (nearly tore my arm from its socket) and it's not a fun thing.
Some people automatically assume the cops were in the wrong when they shoot a dog. Every VIDEO I've seen of a cop shooting a dog - it was clearly justified, but most shootings aren't videotaped, so the anti-cop brigade can fill in the holes with assumptions of thuggish cops shooting defenseless animals
