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Thursday, June 11, 2009
DANVILLE, Va. — A police officer trying to serve a warrant fatally shot a Dachshund that attacked him.
Danville, Va., police said the shooting of a small breed of dog is unusual but said the options were limited in this particular case.
According to police, an officer attempted to serve two outstanding warrants to a resident in the 100 block of Berman Drive at about 8:30 p.m. Monday. The officer, whom police did not identify, knocked on the door but got no answer. As the officer walked back to his car, a growling dog ran through the yard from behind him.
Police said the officer had only seconds to consider his options, which included running for safety, trying to distract the dog or using pepper spray, a baton or his firearm. As the dog lunged at the officer, the officer drew his weapon and shot the dog once, killing it.
Police said they later learned that the dog lived next door to where the warrant was being served and had displayed aggressive tendencies in the past. The dog also was named "Killer."
Police said officers routinely are confronted by dogs as they approach homes, walk through yards and climb fences, but officers are able to defuse these encounters without using firearms. Police said Danville officers got training in 2006, sponsored by the Danville Humane Society and the American Humane Association, to learn techniques to defuse aggressive behavior in dogs.
Danville police also said department policy permits the shooting of a dog that presents a threat to an officer. Police said an officer is not required to take a bite from any dog, including small breeds, because a bite that breaks the skin can transmit rabies. If a dog cannot be identified, captured and quarantined after the attack, an officer must take a series of rabies vaccine shots to ward off a potentially fatal disease.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported today that the slain dog was an 11-year-old miniature Dachshund. Neighbors described him as a sweet, mild-mannered dog.
"He just kind of walked up and down the neighborhood and didn't bother anybody," Jenine Edmunds, who lives on the same cul-de-sac as Killer's owners, told the newspaper. "He was just a little house dog."
DANVILLE, Va. — A police officer trying to serve a warrant fatally shot a Dachshund that attacked him.
Danville, Va., police said the shooting of a small breed of dog is unusual but said the options were limited in this particular case.
According to police, an officer attempted to serve two outstanding warrants to a resident in the 100 block of Berman Drive at about 8:30 p.m. Monday. The officer, whom police did not identify, knocked on the door but got no answer. As the officer walked back to his car, a growling dog ran through the yard from behind him.
Police said the officer had only seconds to consider his options, which included running for safety, trying to distract the dog or using pepper spray, a baton or his firearm. As the dog lunged at the officer, the officer drew his weapon and shot the dog once, killing it.
Police said they later learned that the dog lived next door to where the warrant was being served and had displayed aggressive tendencies in the past. The dog also was named "Killer."
Police said officers routinely are confronted by dogs as they approach homes, walk through yards and climb fences, but officers are able to defuse these encounters without using firearms. Police said Danville officers got training in 2006, sponsored by the Danville Humane Society and the American Humane Association, to learn techniques to defuse aggressive behavior in dogs.
Danville police also said department policy permits the shooting of a dog that presents a threat to an officer. Police said an officer is not required to take a bite from any dog, including small breeds, because a bite that breaks the skin can transmit rabies. If a dog cannot be identified, captured and quarantined after the attack, an officer must take a series of rabies vaccine shots to ward off a potentially fatal disease.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported today that the slain dog was an 11-year-old miniature Dachshund. Neighbors described him as a sweet, mild-mannered dog.
"He just kind of walked up and down the neighborhood and didn't bother anybody," Jenine Edmunds, who lives on the same cul-de-sac as Killer's owners, told the newspaper. "He was just a little house dog."
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