Dog shooting in Old NE

Read on FB about 2 ofcs who responded to a call on evening shift and eventually shot an "old, arthritic Golden Retriever" within the past couple weeks.

According to a friend of the family who owned the dog, the 12 yr old dog had pushed past its backyard fence, crossed the street, and approached 2 neighbors talking in the driveway. The Golden Retriever growled and mounted the neighbor's smaller male dog and wouldn't leave, so the police were called. They said the police shot the dog when they tried to grab its collar and the Golden bared its teeth.

Is this still in IA or is it all over and done? Haven't heard about it in the news.

Police Kill 12-Year-Old Golden Retriever

A St. Petersburg family asks why police had to shoot and kill their elderly, arthritic Golden Retriever named Boomer that had wandered one street away from their Old Northeast home.

By Linda Hersey
October 9, 2011

ST PETERSBURG – Linda O'Keefe was awakened Sunday night by a loud pop and a high-pitched scream that she cannot soon forget.

Her first thought was that a woman must have been shot in her driveway. Linda and her husband turned on the flood lights at their Old Northeast home and peered out the front door.

Blood was everywhere – on her son's SUV, all over the brick driveway. Two police officers stood in the driveway watching a wounded Golden Retriever cornered by her son's vehicle. The dog stumbled backward, howling in pain. The couple was ordered inside.

"I never had seen or heard anything like this. It was like a person's scream. I just wanted it to stop," O'Keefe said.

A St. Petersburg Police Officer had just shot a 12-year-old, arthritic Golden Retriever named Boomer that had the bad luck to push through a broken gate at his home one street away and wander into the wrong yard.

It was the middle of the night on Oct. 2. Pet owners Roy and Lauren Glass did not even realize Boomer was not safe in their backyard on 21st Avenue NE.

Boomer had walked south to Bridgitte Williams' front lawn, where she was outside with the family boxer, Rocky, talking to a neighbor at about 11 p.m. Boomer tried to mount her dog and then bared his teeth when she peered at his ID tag, Williams recalled later.

"He jumped on my dog and was humping him," Williams said. "He didn't go away. He bared his teeth. I was a little concerned that there might be a dog fight."

Williams said that she did not recognize the dog, and even woke up a neighbor to find out if the dog belonged at a nearby home. Boomer seemed to have no interest in leaving and then camped out at her front door. He scratched at her door and then laid down.

When no one answered at Pinellas County Animal Control, Williams said she phoned the non-emergency number of the police, who arrived at about midnight.

"The police really tried everything. They were just doing their job," Williams said a week after the fatal shooting. "The officer who shot the dog wept. This is not really what their jobs are about."

Two officers – Michelle Fotovat and Misty Swanson – first tried to lure the animal away from Williams' property with Beef Jerky. It seemed to do the trick.

As Boomer walked away, Williams noticed that he might not be as menacing as the 70-pound dog first appeared to be. He had the stiff, slow gait of an elderly canine.

"The dog was weak or arthritic. He got up slow. He ambled," said Williams, noting she concluded he was older.

The officers wanted to get Boomer into the back of a squad car, explaining he would need to be "contained" for Pinellas County Animal Control to take him, Williams said.

Despite the officers' efforts, Boomer would not – or could not – jump into the squad car.

"The unknown dog would not enter the rear of the car and started to walk past it," according to the police report. The officers told Williams to go indoors.

Three to five minutes later, Williams said she heard the gunshot and the dog howl.

O'Keefe ran downstairs to see Boomer dying in her driveway, which was across the street diagonally from the Williams house on 20th Avenue NE.

According to the police report, prepared by Officer Fotovat, Officer Swanson had tried to look at the dog's tag, when "it bared its teeth, growled and charged at her liked he was going to attack and bite her."

Fotovat wrote that "the dog was clearly now vicious," when Swanson fired her gun at a distance of about 2 feet. She said the dog started to "squeal and wimper (sic) and had blood coming from it."

Neighbors who heard the dog crying estimate it went on for about 10 minutes. According to the police report, the dog stopped making noise after about 2 minutes and "finally laid down" in the neighbor's driveway.

In that time, several squad cars arrived on the narrow street, in this upscale neighborhood of vintage Florida homes. The neighborhood lit up with outdoor lights. Neighbors rushed out of their homes to see what was going on.

At least seven police vehicles flooded the area. The SPCA arrived to take the body away. A worker identified the dog through his county license tag, when the body was taken back to the Largo shelter. Police advised the animal shelter to contact the owners.

'He Never Hurt Anyone'

Owners Roy and Lauren Glass live on the 400 block of 21st Avenue NE. Their house was just one street northeast of the 400 block of 20th Avenue, where Boomer was killed.

They had no idea what had happened to their dog until the SPCA phoned the next day. The police did not try to contact the Glass family Sunday night. It was not until after noon Monday they heard the astonishing news.

Roy Glass said he kept phoning the police station until a sergeant from Internal Affairs talked to him to say that he could not disclose much detail on what happened. The officer who shot the dog was not on duty and the incident was under review, because it involved a shooting.

Five days after the shooting, Glass went down to the police station for a copy of the report. "This is not my dog," Roy Glass said after reading it. "Boomer was not a guard dog. He was a family pet. He never hurt anyone.

Boomer had slipped out of the backyard before, but usually headed off to play with a pair of Golden Retrievers in the neighborhood.

"He was more likely to kiss and lick someone to death," Glass said. "What are the St. Petersburg Police doing shooting someone's pet?"

St. Petersburg Police can carry a mace-like spray – similar to what a postal worker has – to deter aggressive animals but it's optional. Officers also received a two-hour course last summer on how to handle dogs and how to recognize signs of vicious behavior.

The Glass family finds it hard to believe that Boomer would attack. Boomer had his cranky moments. He was taking medication for arthritis and a thyroid condition. He slept a lot. He typically spent his days swimming in the backyard pool or napping.

Calling Attention to the Shooting

A friend of the Glass family started a Facebook Page to honor Boomer and to call attention to his fatal shooting. "Voice of Boomer" has a photo of the dog after he was shot.

The message next to it says: "Beloved family member, terribly arthritic, goofy, dead." The Facebook page has 409 members after two days.

Ashley Glass, Roy's adult daughter, said that she is concerned that the officer who shot Boomer acted too rashly under pressure.

"What if she reacted the same way to a person?" she asked. She would like to see the officer disciplined and for police to have more training in handling animals.

She wondered why carryng mace or pepper spray is not mandatory when trying to calm or capture a dog.

Roy Glass is an attorney. He and his wife, Lauren, raised two daughters in the Old Northeast. He said he wants to change Florida law, so that when a pet is killed owners can seek damages beyond the animal's value as property. He wants emotional loss to be considered.

He also wants the officer who fired the shot to be disciplined. "I don't want her to lose her job. I just don't want something like this to happen again."

Lauren Glass is taking the loss especially hard. The first thing she did every morning was let Boomer outside. She stll gets up thinking she has to let the dog out but he is not there. She can't talk about Boomer without breaking down in tears.

Members of the Glass family are eager to tell a different story about Boomer than what the police say. Boomer was a cherished and loved family member, they said. He wouldn't hurt anyone.

"He had the heart of a puppy even at an old age. He had so much admiration for anyone who gave him attention," Ashley said. "He was a teddy bear."

The Glass family shared photos of their dog. Boomer is seen sleeping with the family cat, his best friend. In another picture, Boomer looks like he is grinning as he sits in front of a glittering Christmas tree.

The Glass family also shared photos of him in death. They show Boomer's snow white head resting on a bloodied towel, and a gloved hand smoothing fur aside to expose the gaping wound on the side of his neck. Boomer's face is contorted in pain.

"Boomer sought love all the time and gave it right back," Ashley said. "He was an innocent, loving dog near and dear to our hearts."

Here's an idea....keep your dog contained. Maintain your ratty fence so he can't just push out of it. Stop blaming the police for your irresponsibility. It's not their job to get bit by your dog. I think the thing that's missing from this story is the part where the owners are cited for an ordinance violation. Maybe the officer should sue them for the distress of having to shoot the dog they failed to control in negligence. Maybe the city should sue them for all the money that's wasted in the investigation of the incident.

Here's the link....
Go ahead and have fun with posting comments on their paper website.
http://oldnortheast.patch.com/articl...iever#comments

Here's an idea....keep your dog contained. Maintain your ratty fence so he can't just push out of it. Stop blaming the police for your irresponsibility. It's not their job to get bit by your dog. I think the thing that's missing from this story is the part where the owners are cited for an ordinance violation. Maybe the officer should sue them for the distress of having to shoot the dog they failed to control in negligence. Maybe the city should sue them for all the money that's wasted in the investigation of the incident.

Absolutely correct analysis. We don't need to get bitten by uncontrolled pets. It doesn't matter if the dog was lose by accident or not; that's not the issue.

The ISSUE IS: If I am in fear of bodily injury, workmans' comp issues, diseases, inability to provide for MY family, and potential loss of my career due to permanent disabling injuries, it's time to protect myself.

Good Job officer. Don't give it a second thought. You did what you were trained to do and needed to do. NOW, it's time for the dog's owners to pay up for their uncontrolled animal. :idea:

My God, it's no wonder the kids are so "entitled." Look at how the adults attempt to avoid their own accountability.

Sorry, but I have to agree with some of the residents in the paper. I have worked at this department for over 10 years and in all my involvements with animals, have never thought about shooting a small dog or golden retriever. We have had too many dog shootings over the past few months and the common theme seem to be with new officers. We have taken any and all thought process from the new-bees by teaching them to call their supervisors for answers to investigations and hiding behind 10-50's to avoid calls. Maybe Ofc. Swanson was only attempting to get back upstairs into TRU? While I think an animal complaint is the best call for these two officers to be handling, I think we do need alternatives to these calls other than shooting the dog. The alleged training we all went through months ago taught us the garbage that was in the report, "showing of the teeth becoming vicious", well than any and all dogs, regardless of size or breed, can be shot at any given time. This is like our poor pursuit policy where we wait for the crash to end the pursuit. There need to be better actions taken other than this. Ofc. Swanson could have just backed away and let the dog walk away. I dont believe this dog to be vicious, more than just feeling cornered. Way to go Juric, you set the bar, got us the wasted training and now we are dog shooting crazy!

Sorry, but I have to agree with some of the residents in the paper. I have worked at this department for over 10 years and in all my involvements with animals, have never thought about shooting a small dog or golden retriever. We have had too many dog shootings over the past few months and the common theme seem to be with new officers. We have taken any and all thought process from the new-bees by teaching them to call their supervisors for answers to investigations and hiding behind 10-50's to avoid calls. Maybe Ofc. Swanson was only attempting to get back upstairs into TRU? While I think an animal complaint is the best call for these two officers to be handling, I think we do need alternatives to these calls other than shooting the dog. The alleged training we all went through months ago taught us the garbage that was in the report, "showing of the teeth becoming vicious", well than any and all dogs, regardless of size or breed, can be shot at any given time. This is like our poor pursuit policy where we wait for the crash to end the pursuit. There need to be better actions taken other than this. Ofc. Swanson could have just backed away and let the dog walk away. I dont believe this dog to be vicious, more than just feeling cornered. Way to go Juric, you set the bar, got us the wasted training and now we are dog shooting crazy!

Sorry, but you are "Monday morning QBing." Animals' behaviors are totally UNpredictable and can become a danger in a split second. There are many stories of a "house dog" that suddenly attacked a child who was not doing anything to upset the dog.

You need to back the officer, not criticize something in which you were not a direct observer. You are certainly not clairvoyant as to what MIGHT have happened if force was not used.

Any dog not under direct and physical leash control of its owner can become dangerous in a split second. If the choice is kill the dog or risk getting hurt by the dog, it's a no brainer--well, at least for most of us experienced ( I've got over 20 years) LEO's.

And, yes, I have been bitten by a "little cute doggie" that was not on a leash with a little girl riding her bike. I was more than 45 feet from the kid and the dog, going in the opposite direction on the other side of the street when the dog --with no provocation of any kind --came straight at me and bit me. The dog and kid took off and could never be found. RESULT: I TOOK THE WHOLE SERIES OF RABIES SHOTS. Please, don't give opinions about animals until you've had the "shots, stitches, bandaging, scars, and side effects."

Hey Guest, I dont have to back anyone! I can say what I want, it's called free speech. Have had the bites, the stitches, sorry no scars or side affects. Most dogs get defensive when they feel cornered and want an out. It's my opinion based on observations and I am entitled to that. React how you want, say what you want, I respect that. A dog that shows its teeth once, is not all of a sudden vicious. The dog did not become agressive in charging the officer or walking in her direction. If so, I think everyone could understand. She in my opinion over reacted to a dog snarrling and showing it's teeth. Dont believe that should be met with deadly force, but then again look who the officers were.

"Officers carry a mace-like spray that is used to deter animals but it is optional..."

Could this ridiculous excuse for a newspaper be any more obviously biased? Don't worry about the fact that officers are also trained that OC spray not only has little to no effect on animals but that a bite from a strange dog is not something to take chances on.

Re: Dog shooting in Old NE
by Bias » 10/12/11 23:18:10

"Officers carry a mace-like spray that is used to deter animals but it is optional..."

Could this ridiculous excuse for a newspaper be any more obviously biased? Don't worry about the fact that officers are also trained that OC spray not only has little to no effect on animals but that a bite from a strange dog is not something to take chances on.

Dear Bias,

You're biased. It should be protocol for LEO's to contact Animal Control to the scene. An animal control stick could've been used to drag that dog by the neck into a car and tranquilized him. He didn't have to be killed. Also, animal do react to Mace. Their eyeballs are different from ours. Ever hear of bear mace? You're not even supposed to shoot a wild bear in the forest if you run into one, let alone a Golden Retriever in Suburbia.