A topic of conversation here in Rural North Wales has been the recent killing of a dog by the police on the much hated A55 duel carriageway. The dog was running loose and had apparently escaped all reasonable efforts of capture , so after discussion with the firearm officers, ( who decided that shooting the dog was not a safe option) the police ran over and killed the dog with their own patrol car.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-35662889
This situation took place, I am told, in the early hours of the morning, when the carriageway is generally quiet , so, as you may expect, comments about the police action have been varied and at times vociferous.
My views about it all are somewhat mixed.
Some dogs can cope with traffic and being loose. They are in the minority . George and Winnie , I suspect could walk through the village without causing a problem. I think Winnie would even use the zebra crossing all by herself if she had to, but the Welsh terriers, would, I know, dart into traffic without even batting an eye.
My heart goes out to those police officers. Unless you are a psychopath the killing of an innocent and terrified animal can never be seen as an exciting and sporting job and in my experience most police personnel are like most nurses in that all they want to do the right thing.
That's common sense.
Apparently there is independent enquiry into this incident. I hope it comes to light just how a dog got away from it's owner in the early hours of the morning .
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Anyhow on a lighter note I am just about to take Mary for her first haircut, I shall post a photo later...oh and the Prof has just emailed me that by accident he took one of my t shirts with him to the gym this morning........it was my second best Walking Dead T shirt........
I would have paid good money to see that
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-35662889
This situation took place, I am told, in the early hours of the morning, when the carriageway is generally quiet , so, as you may expect, comments about the police action have been varied and at times vociferous.
My views about it all are somewhat mixed.
Some dogs can cope with traffic and being loose. They are in the minority . George and Winnie , I suspect could walk through the village without causing a problem. I think Winnie would even use the zebra crossing all by herself if she had to, but the Welsh terriers, would, I know, dart into traffic without even batting an eye.
My heart goes out to those police officers. Unless you are a psychopath the killing of an innocent and terrified animal can never be seen as an exciting and sporting job and in my experience most police personnel are like most nurses in that all they want to do the right thing.
That's common sense.
Apparently there is independent enquiry into this incident. I hope it comes to light just how a dog got away from it's owner in the early hours of the morning .
******************************************************************************
Anyhow on a lighter note I am just about to take Mary for her first haircut, I shall post a photo later...oh and the Prof has just emailed me that by accident he took one of my t shirts with him to the gym this morning........it was my second best Walking Dead T shirt........
I would have paid good money to see that
Animals are killed on our roads day after day but a cop car running over a loose dog gets such a ridiculous amount of reaction. You rarely see squashed hedgehogs on our roadsides any more because their numbers are in sharp decline. I would like to see more reaction about that.
ReplyDeleteSuch a sad story that was, I think police should be armed with tazer guns at all times anyway - if they can't safely apprehend a dog what chance with a terrorist? They can only be as efficient as the tools they are given for the job and did what they had to do imho. How lovely for Mary having a hair cut, she'll be all frisky and full of the joys of Spring:D
ReplyDeleteSad about the dog and all involved. Shocking actually. Here they would have shot it. Ultimately it comes back to someone not taking responsibility for the dog. You could start buying the hubby a collection of novelty T-shirts.
ReplyDeleteThat's a part of the job I'm certain no officer enjoys.
ReplyDeleteThis is heartbreaking and barbaric.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry I read this . I avoid reading stories about humans and their casual cruelty to animals.
ReplyDeleteMe to! Unless it is something I can still actually help with.
DeleteI am particularly interested in this and have listened to a lot of debates about it. I have been told the dog was a hunting hound and not a pet dog but regardless of that my thoughts are this:
ReplyDeleteThere are no special tools the police have in their vehicles unless it is a specialist unit. You cannot "call out" a vet. Who would pay? How long would it take and what exactly would a vet do anyway?
You need several traffic vehicle to do a rolling road block and would have taken too long. The dog was running in and out of the traffic and Lorries were swerving to avoid it. If there had been a terrible crash and people had died, what would we say then? I'm not sure what the against would suggest doing in that situation and I would be interested to hear their thoughts. I understand the officers in the car are dog owners themselves. I am a huge dog lover and am against cruelty to animals but we have to put human lives and safety first. I would rather an animal die quickly, than a human be killed. Don't forget, Cops are people with families and pets who mostly are nice, kind people despite some of the stories in the press.
Wouldn't it make sense to give police -- at least SOME police units -- tranquilizer guns or some similar device that could anesthetise an animal from afar? Surely they come across dangerous and/or loose animals often enough to warrant that kind of equipment.
ReplyDeletepolice officers wouldn't be allowed to tranquillise animals. Hard enough for them to get a taser.
DeleteIt is interesting to read the very varied comments John. Whatever they had done some people would have agreed and some would not. If it was a hunting hound, as someone above says, then I suspect that it would be very disorientated at being out on its own - thvey travel usually very closely in a pack. The whole episode is over and done with - I can't see much point in an enquiry. The deed is done - for good or bad. And much better than someone dying because the poor dog was disorientated.
ReplyDeleteDeliberately running over the dog must have been a horrible experience for the officer charged with the job. A taser would have been a better choice. Why do the police not have these?
ReplyDeleteVery limited officers have these and you have to be within a certain distance to get the prongs to attach. perhaps there were no taser officers available. All very sad.
DeleteEverything about the story is upsetting to me. That the dog was loose like that in the first place, on a highway. That the police of all people had to kill it, only because it might get hit by a car ? I have seen the police in various places do everything possible / stop traffic for a few minutes ? to save a frightened confused animal on the road.
ReplyDeleteThe whole thing depresses me.
It struck me that attempting to deliberately run the dog over wasn't without its dangers for the officers involved. I wonder if their seniors carried out a risk assessment first?
ReplyDeleteOh, and can we have a photo of the Prof in your Walking Dead t-shirt please. I'm willing to donate to a dog charity for the privilege :)
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity, do you have an agency for Animal Control in England? Experts to be called to a scene by police or fire when animals are involved?
ReplyDeleteMy heart sank when I heard this on the news, wishing it was one of those stories which could be expunged from consciousness by force of will. But it's now stuck there.
ReplyDeleteTrying to wipe the image off my mind - 30-40# dog versus a multi-ton car. Obviously there had been some discussion about it - why didn't they get him with a tranquilizer rifle? Maybe a loose animal running amuck is a very rare occurrence there?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they would have used the same tactic if it had been a disoriented bull? I bet not.
DeleteThat's incredibly sad. Wonder if there was no option to get close enough to sedate the dog?
ReplyDeleteI can only hope that they investigate the story (on the sameday) of a roan cocker spaniel who was found abandonned alongside a plastic bag with her four dead new born puppies. She was chipped by her breaders and her new 'owners' have yet to be found.
ReplyDeleteThis was a terrible incident. The officers did manage to catch the dog once, but it bit the officer holding onto it and escaped again. They did everything in their powers to catch the animal alive but once they had witnessed two close accidents, one with a car, and one with a large HGV having to swerve to avoid the dog they sadly had to take the course of action sanctioned by their superiors.
ReplyDeleteA lot of large vehicles use this stretch of the A55 at night time, any one of them could have either been involved in a serious collision or have killed the dog.
I am firmly on the side of the officers on this occasion even as a dog owner and lover myself. They were both dog owners themselves so what they had to do is no doubt haunting them completely at the moment.
Thank You Sue for more info. It is a very sad story.
DeleteI bet the owner of the dog will sue the police.
cheers, parsnip
just read he is supportive of the police.
DeleteSad. Both for the dog and the officers.
ReplyDeleteChf Supt Sacha Hatchett said: "He [the owner] said he appreciates that given the risk to human life, the officers made the correct decision. He is supportive of the police as had there been a serious accident he said he could not have lived with himself."
ReplyDelete"Both officers have their own dogs and did not take this decision lightly." I think that's fairly conclusive - they did the right thing.
A hard thing, and haunting to think about.
ReplyDelete------
I would pay good money to see a PHOTO of the prof in your 'second best WD t-shirt' :)
An awful situation that was never going to end well. I have seen mayhem caused on a road by a pair of German shepherds on the loose near to our home. Luckily nobody was hurt and the dogs headed away from the road into nearby woods.
ReplyDeletePoor dog, what a horrible end to a terrifying experience and I feel for the officer who had to do the awful deed and clear up afterwards.
That is a very awkward situation and while my immediate reaction, was that really necessary, I think it is a case of being, you really had to be there.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago, a policeman was publicly vilified for strangling a Rottweiler which had attacked a small child in a park - with his bare hands. He deserved a medal, not the attempted prosecution from some silly animal-lovers that attempted it. Who knows about the police decision to run down the Fox Hound? Maybe the coppers couldn't be bothered to get out of their nice warm car?
ReplyDeleteSad to hear . . .
ReplyDeletebecause my "dog lover heart" thinks selfishly of my own little one . . .
BUT . . . sounds like there was more to the story . . .
BUT . . . sad . . .