From coast to coast, officers are shooting dogs and consider themselves justified in these killings. Here's a small example of the ones posted on YouTube. How many dogs or other animals do officers shoot/kill? We'll never know. That this many are caught on video or covered by the news should tell you that there are far more than these and at the end I'll tell you why you should expect these numbers to go up dramatically in the future.
Missouri: Officers want to storm a house but there's a dog tied up near the front door. No problem. Just shoot the dog!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca73iLBypTA
San Francisco: Officer shoots on duty K-9 dog. The dog had 3 years of successful duty, was assigned to a new handler, and doesn't obey commands and attacks an officer. What does that tell you about the new handler?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkUXUgmHio
Texas: K-9 is loosed on suspects in wooded area, officer looses sight of K-9, helicopter overhead so officer doesn't have vocal command over the dog either... The K-9 is no longer under handler control and attacks as trained to do. The second suspect defends the first suspect who is being attacked by the K-9 and kills the K-9. Police blame the suspects but the reality is that the handler lost control of his dog and that is what lead to the dog's death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imGBhDtTV6k
(How is it that a dog rushing at an officer is an "attack" and a K-9 assaulting a suspect while out of handler control is the dog attempting to detain the suspect? If a German Shepherd had it's jaws on you and no officer in sight, would you be thinking "arrest" or "attack"?)
Arkansas: Officer shoots 7-8 dogs who are in a single ramshackle outdoor kennel pound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqwDnbdDQug
Police methodically hunt down dog and kill him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h50TR3dWz0k
(The above is the same group of people who are investigating animal abuse? Into whose care seized dogs end up??? Can anyone who would do this to a dog then be entrusted to seize them in a civilized manner?)
Oklahoma: Lost officer on private property caught on security video shooting the resident dog. The officer's story promptly changed after finding out the video existed. Gee, not surprised about that! THIS is why I keep recommending surveillance cameras.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFlWGeb_aw
Maryland: Mayor's home raided and 2 dogs shot. Watch Inspector General Mark Spencer smile and call this brutal invasion and killing of animals "unfortunate". A neighbor child asks why should should trust officers after this. Why, indeed. Out of the mouths of babes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9Com08ILgQ
Officer chase suspect through yard and shoot the dog that belongs in the yard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h24ouBolMQY
(Got it? You may not have had anything to do with the crime but your home and yard can be invaded by officers and your dogs shot. It's "unfortunate" but "completely justifiable" to officers.)
Omaha: Officer enters fenced yard to "investigate" a vehicle with expired tags that's on PRIVATE property and shoots dog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EZwkNTkjyg
(Do vehicles in Omaha have to have current tags when not on public roads? How absurd if they do! Doesn't matter because it certainly doesn't justify a warrantless search of the yard in my opinion. Just plain trespassing.)
Virginia: Officer shoots small dog "because it barked" in its own yard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dEhlGXq_3Q
Texas: While shooting at dog multiple times, officer also shoots a person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUdsd8xLOyg
New York: Officers open fire on dog in confined space and shoot the dog, a woman, and 3 officers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uuPagsxeVc
The animal rights activists are jumping up and down over a California court ruling that permits warrantless and forced entry to homes when animal abuse is suspected. Hear a dog yelp and charge through the door. If the dog runs toward the officer, it will likely be shot like the ones above. If you take the warrantless search and combine it with the clear disregard for animal life or human safety clearly shown by the above videos, you have a very dangerous society indeed.
To me, either the dogs are so worthy of saving and life that we abrogate our right to be secure in our homes OR their life is justifiably ended at the least of provocations. I do not see how both can be true simultaneously. How does one justify breaching a home and leaving the injured dog and simply walking away as was done in some of these cases? Is that not animal cruelty? How is it justifiable to enter homes on a suspicion only to abuse the animal when it doesn't obey a stranger?
One of the activists has analyzed the California case. "Even if Correa [the entering officer] heard a faint whimper outside Chung’s door, which testimony Chung asserts was highly suspicious given the dog’s condition" and I couldn't possibly agree more with Chung on this particular point! The "analyst" says: "Silly!". Now, scroll back up to the surveillance video of the officer shooting a dog for running across the yard in front of him and listen to how that story changed. Officers LIE and they lie a LOT. The officers stories sound so much alike because they are pre-written, canned, and fictitious; they've been trained and taught what to say to "justify" themselves when they've committed abuses.
Yes, indeed we can expect more dogs to be shot in our homes and yards with court rulings like this one abrogating our fundamental rights. Yes, indeed the animals rights activists will support those killings by supporting cases like this. Makes it pretty clear that they consider animal life cheap doesn't it?
One more video. Tennessee: You're pulled over on the highway by officers and do exactly what the officers direct. But you keep telling them about your dog who you clearly care about because you're trying to tell them, trying to protect your dog the best you can while on your knees before a pack of armed officers. Your dog is in the car and waits patiently for a bit. Then the dog finally bounds out of the car to see what all the commotion is about. Do officers attempt to deal with the dog? No, they step back and start shooting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv0T2X1dXcI
I don't believe animals have independent rights. I believe we humans have the rights and that includes the right to protect our animals from abuses like these by law enforcement officers but here's another of my questions...
Where are the PETA, HSUS, or ASPCA talking heads on cases like the ones above? If animal have independent rights, if animals are worthy of protection from violence, where are they? Why aren't they ALL over these cases and these officers and these police departments? Or are they really about control and dictating and destroying animal life in all its forms?