By Jonathan Wolfe
Yet another report has surfaced
of police shooting a non-aggressive dog. The latest incident occurred in
Johnson County, Ky.
At 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning,
Becky Pelfrey awoke to a knock at her door. It was the police. They were there
to serve a warrant for someone who no longer lived at the house.
Like most dogs would, Pelfrey’s
Great Dane, Boss, walked over to see what was happening. Boss strolled out the
door, past two officers, and walked down the porch steps. Pelfrey couldn’t
believe what she heard next.
“It was pop, pop, pop, pop,
pop,” she said. “Just five shots right in a row … I looked out and Boss was
lying in the road. And I said, ‘Did you shoot my dog?’ and [the trooper] said,
‘Yes, ma’am, I did, he was charging at me.’”
Luckily, Boss survived the
shooting. He was back at home Wednesday after being treated at the vet for four
gunshot wounds.
Though Boss survived, Pelfrey
is left wondering why the police felt the need to immediately resort to using a
firearm when dealing with her dog.
“They could have tazed him,”
she said. “They could have pepper-sprayed him, I know they carry batons. They
could have taken other precautions instead of drawing [their weapons] and
firing.”
Kentucky news station WKYT
reached out to Kentucky State Police for comment yesterday. They declined to
comment.
Ozymandias Media is currently
raising money to make a documentary about police on dog violence in America.
They estimate one dog is shot every 98 minutes by a police officer.
