Keeping your dog safe from law enforcement may sound like a contradictory statement, but recently there have been several tragic stories which involve family dogs being shot by police officers.
Cheryl Goede, not only has firsthand insight as a police officer, but she is also an experienced dog owner, and has been in law enforcement for the past fourteen years.
She collaborated with her husband, Kevin, who has 20 years of law enforcement background in addition to being a dog trainer, and Cindy Earnshaw, a journalist and former LEO/Animal Control officer.
Together, this threesome came up with a plethora of knowledge to share with all dog owners. The following information was written by Cheryl and should be shared with all dog owners:
If people know that the police are coming, then every effort should be made to make sure that the dogs are restrained in such a manner that they won't be able to escape. Even if you think that nothing will happen and that your dog is friendly and will not charge the officer, bark at them, etc., always expect the unexpected. Things can happen and circumstances can change in the blink of an eye. So always restrain your dogs.
Do not
EVER allow your dogs to roam your neighborhood. If your dog is unrestrained and the police come to your home unexpectedly and the officer asks you to restrain your dog, do so immediately.
USE YOUR VOICE to alert the officer to your dog's
NAME and loudly announce "Let me put up my dog, I am putting up my dog!" If the officer is not comfortable with the method of you restraining your dog (a dog on a retractable leash or the dog is jumping up on the fence after being placed in the backyard) and there is a chance that it is making the officer uncomfortable, immediately offer to restrain your dog further.
When you see officers in the vicinity of your home and your dog is outside,
ESPECIALLY if they appear to be searching for someone/something, bring your dog inside. If it looks as though police are actively going into yards to search, don't think "I'll help the police out" and let your dog
OUT, keep them in until police presence is gone. It is also a good idea put signs on your fence to indicate that there are dogs at the house and possibly in the backyard, so that officers are not taken by surprise if they are searching for someone and jump the fence to find there are dogs there. If both the officer and the dog are taken by surprise, that would put them in all in a position of defense….not good.
Do what you can to discourage your dog's excitement towards any officer or other official who is in your presence. Never tempt fate by encouraging your dog's excitement towards the officer. Dogs react differently to people in uniform, and they can and may behave in an unexpected manner.
It is imperative to remember that the legal default presumption is always that the dog owners are ultimately wholly responsible for the welfare and control of their canines.
If an officer does what was allegedly reported by the owner of
Cisco, file a lawsuit against the officer, the police department, and the municipality. Under certain circumstances and under local law, it may be appropriate to file charges of animal cruelty/abuse against the officer. I don't think there was really anything his owner could have said or done in order to prevent the shooting, other than what he already did, due to the fact that the officer was pointing a gun at him and basically telling him not to move.
Kevin is hoping to create a course to help educate law enforcement officials about better communication with pet owners. He also hopes to teach law enforcement about how to read a dog's body language.
Please take a moment to share this valuable information with anyone who owns a dog. It could prevent a tragedy. Many thanks to Cheryl and Kevin Goede and Cindy Earnshaw for taking the time to put this important information together.
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