Oakridge Tase, Then Shoot to Death Dog in Oregon

Oakridge, Oregon

There is lots of blame going around in a shooting death of a woman's dog, described as a Pit Bull.

The woman has a problem properly confining her dogs and this dog had gotten out before. The week prior, officers had responded to a call of the loose dog, and had to taser the dog.

When officers responded a week later to the dog running around (not eating anyone but acting aggressively), they arrived on scene and immediately tasered the dog. Even though the dog was immobilized and no longer a threat, officers shot the dog, killing him. Even the neighbors who didn't really like the woman or dog thought it was an extreme response to a prone, non-threatening dog.

November 2010: Canadian Police Use Taser to Subdue Dog

British Columbia

A dog described as a German Shepherd was apparently accidentally left at a gas station by his owner. The dog started wandering around and became agitated and aggressive, attacking/scratching several people. He bit an animal control officer as well. Instead of deploying lethal weapons, officers decided to use a taser and shocked the animal twice before subduing him. The owner then came back and, well, gee golly, they just handed the dog over to him.

June 2010 - Toronto Police Taser Dog

Officers in Toronto busted down a door and entered a person's home in search of firearms. The resident had a dog who was being restrained by the owner. The dog was acting territorial. Officers demanded the owner release the dog. When he did, the dog was tasered. The man accuses police of beating him up afterwards.

No firearms were found. They did find a small amount of pot, a flick knife and a baton.

Salisbury police use taser to subdue dog

A loose dog who had attacked another dog and acted aggressively towards officers was safely subdued with a taser and taken to animal control.

Clackmas, OR: Police dog handler shoots one dog, another tazed

Police were tracking down three shooting and burglary suspects. At one home, when a K-9 handler entered the backyard, they encountered two dogs who had run out of the house. The dogs were in their backyard on their own property. The smaller dog attacked the police dog causing minor injuries. At one point, the K-9 handler shot the smaller dog, requiring her to be euthanized. Another officer tasered the larger dog and the owner was able to bring the dog safely inside.

Walnut Ridge, AR taser

WALNUT RIDGE, AR (KAIT) - Animal control officers in several Region 8 cities are dealing with more unleashed animals.

In Walnut Ridge, animal control officers tell Region 8 News the problem is so bad, they impound the animal if they pick it up 3 times. In most cases it's dogs that are picked up. If no one claims the dog after 5 days, it is euthanized.

So Region 8 News went to Walnut Ridge to investigate. Shortly after we arrived, we found a dog wandering without a leash inside of the city limits. While we were getting video of the dog roaming around, a Walnut Ridge animal control officer pulled up.

Our cameras were rolling as the animal control officer tased the dog. He says the animal was acting aggressively. The officer says he was within his rights to tase the animal.

Watch the video and tell us if he acted appropriately in our Web poll.

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10965647#WNPoll86567

El cajon police use stun gun on aggressive dog

A loose dog who was acting aggressively towards people was shot with a taser instead of a gun.

Horsham, PA police use alternatives to subdue dog

So a really angry dog broke through a window and threatened the general calmness of a neighborhood. Police were called.

Okay, here's where I have to admit I smiled:

When the first responding officer arrived and noticed the large, loose dog acting aggressive and charging at him, he went back to his patrol car. Now I understand this isn't always an option due to the fact patrol cars don't just follow you wherever you go. When it is an option, though, I've read countless stories of officer choosing to use lethal force in a situation when they could have retreated back to their squad car and reassessed the situation (and this was in absence of the dog being a threat to anybody else).

So, good first thinking!

When the dog became aggressive towards other people, the officer and other responding officers took action by trying a taser on the dog. It worked. They then used a nifty device called a catch pole to completely restrain the dog.

The owner did arrive shortly thereafter and restrained her dog - oh god, I bet she was embarrassed. The dog remains with the owner.

Good job, Horsham PD.

(I personally think the reason the dog went ape-shit was probably boredom and an inflated sense of self and possibly feeling overly emo about his last name, Livshits).

Blanchester police taze dog

Blanchester, OH police chose to taze a dog in lieu of shooting him. Why?

“Miller and Ptl. Casey Gray then approached the dog in the back yard of 204 S. Columbus St. and Miller tried to grab its collar and the dog tried to bite him,” Reinbolt said. “Due to the number of people in close proximity, the officers used sound judgment and stunned the dog with an electric taser to subdue it instead of attempting to shoot it,” the police chief said.

Calgary police versus Corpus Christi police

A Calgary dog was tasered three times. The dog, a 9-mos-old Presa Canario puppy, became very agitated when his owners began to fight. SO much so that he redirected onto his owners, biting them several times. Police were flagged down and the dog was tasered once during the attack, a second time when it appeared the dog was about to charge again and a third time when he was cornered on a porch. The dog survived and is at the shelter. The photo shows a very frightened dog, sad. The dog was initially identified as a pit bull.

In Corpus Christi, Texas, we see the other end of the spectrum when a police officer shot at a dog who was charging him, even though the owner was literally feet away. The dog got out of the house and ran down the steps but did not attack. The officer shot at the dog, missing, and the sound probably scared the dog off. The custodian of the dog was able to leash him safely.