Two Escaped Dogs Shot By Police
In Wyandanch, N.Y. two dogs escaped their yard and were shot and killed by the police.
The two Staffordshire bull terriers had gotten loose before but with a very different outcome. On the other occasions they returned, this time they did not.
The owner, Keith Outlaw, realizes he is responsible for the dogs getting out, but according to him both were very friendly and had never harmed anyone. The police say they were driving through the neighborhood when they saw the dogs chasing a group of children, all got away and were unharmed. The dogs were eventually cornered into a fenced yard.
Newsday.com has the details on what happened next.
They closed the gate, trapping the dogs inside, and called animal control officers. But as they waited for animal control, the homeowner – an elderly deaf man – stepped out of his house.
“The officers were yelling at him to go back in the house, but he couldn’t hear them because he was deaf,” the representative said.
When the dogs charged at the man, the representative said, the officers shot and killed both dogs.
Outlaw was out searching for his dogs when he heard shots. He followed the sound of gunshots and found the police at a house on 19th Street. Upon approaching the police he learned that his dogs had just been shot and killed.
Outlaw is devastated over the loss of Onyx, who was three-years-old, and Dutchess who was only a year and a half. He said the dogs had never been in a fight and he’s just grateful that he has their nine puppies, who are thankfully just old enough to be weaned.
This is a very sad story, which could have been avoided. I can’t judge Outlaw because we’ve lived with our own Hairy Houdini for many years now, he is an escape artist extraordinaire. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can say their dog never got loose.
As for the police, what they saw and what was happening may have been two different things. Were the dogs “charging” or just running up to play? Did they have to shoot to kill? Again, I can’t judge the police because I wasn’t there. I just hope the dogs weren’t shot because the police classified them as pit bulls and therefore assumed they were vicious.
The bottom line, we’ll never know.
*Photo courtesy Newsday.com
This is very sad.If they had learned to sign or even looked at the man and spoke to him that was deaf this could have a different outcome.People do judge dogs by look. We have pugs and have heard the comment they have pit bulls which we do not have.Church groups will not come to my door for this reason.So the cops may have thought they were pits instead of bull terries.I feel really bad for the owner just glad babies were old enough to wean.
What a terrible thing!! As awful as this is to read, people need to know how some animals are treated. How sad to think animals suffer from human’s ignorance.
Thanks for the post!
Owner/ Management failure….
Sorry- it was NOT the fault of the Police, the Deaf Man, wether they could Sign? (are you nuts- as the dogs run at him?!)
I hope the owner gets a grip on keeping the 9 pups at home….
I have always had 100# dogs- it was MY responsibility to make sure they stayed safe at home-
If one had been running at kids or old folks and got shot- I would have been the one at fault- and yes they were all very friendly and well trained- but they were dogs, with dog brains and very big.
It is the owner’s responsibility, not the Police or neighbor’s.
And shoot to wound? You watch too much Roy Rogers- if you draw a weapon and shoot it – it is to kill.
Ddraig- I’ve never watched Roy Rogers, haven’t even been to one of his restaurants, but I appreciate your feedback. And yes, it was totally the owner’s responsibility that his dogs got out, even he (Outlaw) agreed with that. If the dogs had not gotten loose they would have not been shot. That most certainly doesn’t take away from the tragedy of the situation or the sad outcome.
OK….So I am sure I will be blasted for my opinon, but here it is anyway. The police officers are IDIOTS…..If they had two officers…Why wasn’t one punding on the front door to notify the homeowner that they had used there yard as a barrade for the dogs…What would have happened if there had been kids playing in that backyard and the officers decided to lock the dogs in there. What if there was a dog tied out in the yard and that caused a fight…I have dogs myself and I have not had my dogs get out ever….There is always a first time…My neighbors dog a golden retriever gets out of the yeard EVERY DAY….Cops just grab his collar and walk him back home….He chases kids gettin gof the school bus, yet all the cops do is walk the dog back home. There has been days when they have brought him back to the house 2 or 3 times….My other neighbors Doberman got loose and was running around in the front yard of a fenced in yard that the gate was not closed and they drove up and got out with their guns on the dog. I know the dog well. They would not let me go in the yard to close the gate. I dog sit for the dog when they aren’t home and explained that to the officers….Still I was not allowed to close the gate. WHY???? So I’m sure the cops do believe they are doing what is best, but sometimes they need to think things through a little better. The only reason they had the guns drawn was because the breed of the dog.
I do not know if this shooting was justified or not, as I was not there, but just type in “police kill dogs” into any search engine and you will get a boatload of results about cops killing family pets for no justifiable reason.
I think the cops overreacted. Animal Lover is right on the mark. The cops had no idea of the situation in the yard, it was very irresponsible of them to corner the dogs. They put the innocent homeowner in danger, if there were others in the area they were put in jeopardy as well. A stray bullet could have hit someone.
Ddraig is also right about the owner’s failure to keep his dogs confined, as are the above examples of dogs escaping. I will confess that in the 3 and a half years I’ve had Molly she did slip out the front door once. I chased her on foot for at least half a mile before I caught her. The person who owned the house happened to have a dog, they loaned me a leash so I could walk Molly home. We were very lucky the cops weren’t around ( hell, try to get the Gwinnett Co. police to be around even if you call them). As a rule I never leave Molly outside unattended and if I’m not home she’s in the house.
I also agree that the breed may have had something to do with the officer’s actions. A Golden or Lab. etc. they may have waited for animal control or the owner to show up.
No mater were the finger of blame points it’s just a very sad occurrence.
Do you think the police would have shot the dogs had they been Standard Poodles? Golden Retrievers? Beagles? Border Collies?
According to the American Temperament Testing Society, Staffordshire Bull Terriers passed the test 88% of the time. The other breeds I listed:
Standard Poodles–85%, Golden Retrievers–84.6%, Beagles–81%, Border Collies–80.6% .
Breedism is akin to racism.
Police are most definitely biased against breeds. My sister’s 12 year old arthritic Rottie was sleeping on the front lawn near the house and a cop pulled up to the driveway and said he was writing my sister up for have a dangerous dog at large…. the he got out of the car and repeatedly slammed the door trying to get the Rottie riled up but Cyrus just stayed put so the cop got pissed and threatened my sister when she told him that as long as the dog is ON her property he isn’t at large and this cop should learn the law.
Stafforshire Bull Terriers, are not people aggresive, at all , now they are dog aggresive, they are terriers , but wouldn;t hurt a person,, this is totallly unbelievable, officers should be trained better to do their jobs. This is horrible , also the owner should have done better with containment , this just puts a bad light on the bully breeds as usual we all suffer.
Sadly, this was an exercise in poor judgment all the way round. Like it or not, there is a bias against bully breeds and those of us who own them are held to a higher standard – I suspect the outcome would have been different if these had been Golden Retrievers. Our dogs must be better socialized and better trained than other breeds, and most important, we must have absolute control of them at all times. No, it’s not fair, but it’s reality.
There are a number of ways these dogs could have been saved, but in the end, it is the owner’s responsibility to ensure the safety of his dogs. If he couldn’t manage two large adults, how on earth will he manage nine puppies?
Hi, im actually the daughter of mr.outlaw, i was the one who contacted newsday about this..also i want to let you guys know, they shot onyx 4 times. he swelled up so bad we couldn’t take the collar off of him. we had to clip it off. They also shot his wife, dutchess in the face. I appreciate everyone’s comments good or bad, but i definitely appreciate the people who can relate to this horrible tragic situation. SUFFOLK COUNTY POLICE ARE DOG KILLERS!!!
9 puppies!? Oh great…another BYB. Let’s hope those puppies find loving homes. And let us not forget the 9 adult dogs that will die in shelters because someone opted for a puppy and not an older dog.
I have to say that Yes, this is a sad story but the owner gets the FULL blame on this one! It said that the dogs have gotten out before and have always been returned. Why are the dogs getting out in the first place???? If my dog ever got out of my yard (hasn’t happened and will never happen) I would fix the issues ASAP. Why didn’t the owner fix the problem?? It’s not up to the neighbors or animal control to bring your dogs back. I live in an area where dogs run amuck everywhere. They come charging at you and you have no idea if they are mean or nice. A friendly dog comes at your with head down tail waggin not full eye contact chest puffed out.
The owners sounds like a great back yard breeder so I am glad that his “breeding program” is shut down. I am sad for the dogs, but thier owner let them down. It’s the police’s job to protect the public bottom line.
Shame on the owner!!! His dogs blood in on his hands!
I’ve had 2 border/newf mixes tear through a chain link kennel and escaped with a large cranky great dane. They were spotted .5 mile away at the animal shelter setting off the motion alarms. The people caught the friendlier of the border/newf but couldn’t grab the others. The border/newf were fairly large black hairy dogs (65-70lbs) and the great dane 125lbs which wasn’t very friendly to strangers at the time. The people said when they tried to grab one of the others, he snapped at them. They called animal control after trying to call the number on the tag and then called the microchip company and got my home number. The police never responded and the 2 uncaptured big monsters returned home when called. The 3rd had to be picked up. Still even animal control never responded. That was the last time those boys escaped. We immediately went out and bought a heavy duty kennel to prevent this fiasco from occurring again. There were too many bad things that could happen to them if they escaped again plus we had them neutered which really seemed to reduce their urge to escape. Luckily it happened on a sunday when traffic was light.
The fact of the matter is this wasn’t the first time these 2 dogs got loose. The term “pitbull” does not refer to a certain breed but a whole class of breeds. If you look in the AKC list of breeds there are no pitbulls, they are refered to as Amer. Staffordshire Terrier while UKC doesn’t have that breed and instead calls them Amer. Pitbull Terrier. So many breeds fall under the classification of pitbull in the eyes of the law which generally describes the breed. Breeds like Amer. Pitbull Terrier, Staffordshire Terriers, Dogue de Bourdeaux, Cane Corso, Amer. Bulldog, and even possibly bullmastiff and bulldogs all fall under the catagory of pitbull in the eyes of the law and public. Therefore if you have a dog that even remotely resembles a “pitbull”, you must take every precaution to make sure you protect your dog from those that are afraid of them. Your dog should NEVER be allowed to get loose or even be off leash. It just takes one person to claim ur dog attacked them and either say goodbye to your dog or home insurance. It is irresponsible for anyone to allow their dog to wander even if by accident. If your dog has escaped on previous occasions and is a breed that people fear, you must make EVERY effort to prevent it for happening again. If that means fencing the entire yard then so be it. The police are not dog trainers. They don’t study dog behavior. Their job is to protect the public. If they eel the public, in this case the deaf man is at risk of loosing him life, i.e. the dogs charging with whatever intentions but powerful enough to inflict serious bodily harm, the police must react with the safety of the public in mind. They shot the dogs because they had no clue what the intentions were as they charged towards the man and they weren’t going to find out. Maybe they did try to contact the homeowner but since he was deaf, he didn’t hear them knocking. The fact remains the police must protect the public via whatever means they find appropriate. So as they didn’t know the dogs and weren’t about to find out their intentions, they were justified in shooting the dogs who should have never been loose in the first place.
I have a German Shepherd and I would never allow her to escape. Too much could happen. She would chase people and possibly nip at their heels. She loves chasing things. It would be extremely irresponsible to allow my dog to be loose. She can be protective if scared, another reason she would never be permitted to escape. If she were to even escape once I would do everything in my power to prevent it ever again.
Now as for the owner of these dogs it was his fault they were shot not the police. He doesn’t seem very responsible. It seems that no one has noticed that the female was only 1.5yr old and had a litter of puppies. That is extremely irresponsible to allow a large breed dog who hasn’t matured yet to have puppies so young. You can’t even get their joints certified at that age. Dogs should not be bred until they are at least 2yrs old and have had all the proper health checks. It seems this person has no regard for the genetic health of these puppies seeing as the mom was too young to perform health checks on. I only hope this man will be responsible in placing the puppies in appropriate experienced homes that will socialize these pups and never fail them the way their parents’ owner did.
I, for one, can honestly say that in the 10 years that my wife has had her Guide dogs, they have never “gotten loose”. The author of the article is jumping to some very incorrect conclusions .
My question is this: If a blind woman can keep control of her dogs at all times, why does it seem that those who have all normal senses functioning cannot do the same?
I stopped counting the number of times that my wifes Guides have been accosted and attacked by loose dogs that “aint never hurt no one before”, “never got loose before” and “dont worry, he/she is friendly”.
While somewhat tragic, this incident was entirely preventable. The owner bears complete and total responsibility for the demise of his dogs.
ok so i get that the dogs got out. i get that the owner is responsible for them getting out. i get why the police were called. i get that they told the man to go inside. but what i dont get is this; why would you shoot a dog? yes it was chasing kids. (will we know if they were playfully chasing them or not? no) but honeslt, two officers can control two dogs. they catch criminals for goodness sake.
The dog with his tongue hanging out is a staffie? You certainly can’t tell and the fact that someone would breed a poorly bred dog goes all over me. Sure, he’s beautiful in his own way. But accepting his would be disqualifications in the show ring and breeding him because you think he’s beautiful are two different things.
Anyway, onto the point. Yes, many dog owners have had their dogs get loose on them. But, having a dog get loose every day and having one get loose once in his or her ten or so years are two completely different things. See, Outlaw blatantly admitted that his dogs got loose all the time. Where is he when they get loose? I didn’t see mention of him chasing them. Even when Cinnamon was my moms, if she got loose, my mom WOULD catch her. She would walk a mile down the road barefoot and in her robe to catch that dog. Now that Cinnamon is mine, she hasn’t gotten loose once since. In fact, none of my dogs have- but that could be sheer luck.
I wouldn’t say Outlaw is solely to blame, however. He probably feels horrible enough about the situation without people completely blaming him. I mean to say, he’s probably blaming himself enough already. We all know that if these dogs were labradors, goldens, poodles or even chihuahuas, the outcome would’ve been completely different. The cops probably would’ve waited for animal control to come and take the dogs. Am I saying blame the law? Not exactly. My opinions on the law are not biased. In fact, I’m going into the field. What I’m saying is, sometimes the law DOES jump to conclusions based on biased information and denying that is hard to do.
Btw, it is not pitbull. It is pit bull. Two words, not one.
Also yes it does matter what the breed is as to how the police deal with it but I have found reports of small dogs being shot too when they attacked an officer. I found many reports of pitbulls being shot but also rottis, dobie, GSD, Lab, mixes, heeler, and even a chi and weenie. It also matters if the police know of the dog. If a golden came up to an officer growling and barking, I’m sure the officer would shoot it. I’ve had my shepherd bark at an officer and he didn’t shoot her. She turned around and came over to greet him after. He did think she was a very pretty dog and much more approuchable than the police dogs despite her looking just like the ones they use.
For other breeds many times they don’t feel threatened by a happy golden or fluffy dog wagging, quietly approuching. But an overly happy, excited dog that doesn’t know how to greet can be a scary thing. We have an 80lbs poodle mix and the fire dept won’t enter the house until we put him in his crate as he is just so excited to see new people. He is so big and doesn’t know it he’ll splat you faster than you can block. He got lose once (when we first got him) and within 10 minutes was brought to the police station and left there for animal control. We got there and animal control was waiting with him. He said he was a really nice dog too. No fine as it was the first time he had gotten loose and was at large for only a few minutes. He ran down to the main street and jumped into a car of a person worried about his safety.
So yes breed does play a part into how police handle your dog. If you want to reduce the risk your dog will be shot if they escape, then don’t get a bully or other breed commonly shot by police, especially if you don’t think you can be responsible and keep your dog in the yard. Better yet if you can’t do that, don’t get a dog at all. Adopting a cat might be a better option of course police will shoot them too just like raccoons if they appear rabid so maybe a goldfish or plant is a better option.
I have really gotten tired of the whole “Pit Bulls are vicious” sort of comments lately. I mean, it’s a breed! Just like a person, everyone has their own personality! I just don’t get it!
I really hope the pups don’t get out when they’re older, which would be horrible! I think the dogs were just going up to play! I would wait and see if the dogs bit, growled at, or snapped a child or the old man before bringing the gun out! It’s just stupid how some people do this. It’s not fair!
what a fiasco from beginning to end!
i’m sorry for the dogs. they never stood a chance.
the outlaws are terrible owners letting their dogs escape numerous times and breeding mutts.
there aren’t enough pitbulls already???
mrs. outlaw, are you aware of how many pit bulls are euthanized every day?
why on earth are you creating more??
i would be furious if the police used my yard as a corral; i have a little dog who is in and out all day.
i hope the puppies are confiscated. the outlaws are abominable dog owners.
they had multiple opportunities to fix the escaping problem and the breeding is ludicrous.
take responsibility for your own negligence mr. and mrs. outlaw !!
and get those puppies spayed and neutered!
This story is very tragic all around, on everyone’s parts. I have to admit- I am fearful of american staffordshire terriers, “pit bulls” and sometimes even bull dogs. Reason- I have had bad experiences with all of them. Most of the pit bull owners I have met are not good dog owners and it seems like they have a pit bull because it makes them look tough. This is only my experience. I do own a bichon- which has a very loud bark and has been known to frighten a repair person or two at the front door. I would ever 100% trust a dog, even though my small dog is not vicious I could never trust 100% that he would not bite some one or chase some one. I do think there are breeds of dogs who are more aggressive by nature. Breeding more pit bulls is negligent. There are so many in shelters- another reason why I think most pit bull owners I have met are not very great pet owners- they often do not spay or neuter their dogs.
Owners should be more responsible.
Police should had some sort of stun gun.
Police should not have killed the dogs.
Shame on Suffolk police dept.
It’s hard to know exactly what the circumstances were that the cops felt compelled to shoot . . . unfortunately the dogs may have been chasing the kids because the kids were running and they were joining in. But you can’t expect kids, strangers or cops to know your loose dogs are friendly and o.k. Yes, people are automatically scared by the pitbull look and may have reacted differently to two loose Border Collies, but owners know the public’s prejudices and should take extreme precautions to make sure their dogs can’t escape repeatedly . . .keep them inside with the family where family dogs want to be and belong!
The cops probably saved the mans life. It is their job to serve and protect people and the pit pull owners to keep his dogs under control. I don’t have much sympathy. Irresponsible dog owners out number the responsible ones and maybe if enough people read this story they will take extra measures to keep their dogs, especially ones with the reputation that a “Stafordshire/pit bull has under complete control at all times.
The cops were doing their job. Wake up people.
While I’m very sorry the dogs were shot, and will assume the police didn’t have much of an alternative, I think that the dogs owner not only should feel guilty & take the blame for not properly securing his home/yard, but on top of that, he’s ‘white-trash’ for not spaying/neutering his PBTs & letting them have puppies.
If you think that’s cruel for me to think that, you obviously don’t work or volunteer in an animal shelter…
That’s so unfair fur the dogs. Just because staffordshire bull terriers look tough and mean, doesn’t mean those 2 were going to hurt the man. Those police officers, they just don’t understand us dogs. But then, the dogs’ owner is also to blame, if he didn’t close the gate properly, the dogs wouldn’t have escaped in the first place. Well, I can’t be the judge of who to blame, I wasn’t there and I haven’t even heard a clearer and more detailed story. Still, this was a very sad story. I feel a lot of sympathy fur the pups, especially Dutchess, she seemed so young…
Oh, here is a thought-KEEP YOUR DOG INDOORS AND SAFE-SO THEY CANNOT GET OUT!!! What a concept people. Think about it.
This is very sad story, I can’t get over it, I am very upset!!!!! If the dogs don’t harm anyone, the police have no right to harm them!!!!! There is always an alternative way!!!!!! No one was is danger; the police mentality is SHOT FIRST – THINK LATER!!!
This is has to end. The animals are not humans, what can they do to defense themselves when they against the cruel people with the GUNS???
I bet the dogs didn’t charge towards Mr Outlaw to be aggressive, I bet they recognised him. And the police officers actions were dispicable, especially if they used as many shots as is suggested. Dogs do get loose from time to time, especially big dogs with disabled owners, but there’s no need to overreact.
I’d like to say UK police officers are better but they aren’t. A senior police officer is facing charges at the moment for letting his two police dogs- both highy (and expensively) trained Alsatians, roast to death in his police car on a boiling hot day. And apparently, he may be unfit to attend court due to ’stress’. Most likely, the police are just protecting their own!
This is very sad and I feel bad for the dogs who were shot and killed. I believe this force was unnecessary and certainly could have been handled differently.
However, having your dog escape repeatedly from your home is totally unacceptable and can be avoided. A couple of months ago, my dog Chaz was attacked and almost killed by a rottweiler that ran out the door and the owner had not control over him. Just a few weeks ago the same dog escaped again and attacked and badly hurt another dog. Fortunately, the owner gave the dog up to a new family since she clearly could not handle this dog.
If you truly love and care for your dogs, please make every effort to keep them safe so tragedies like this do not occur. We came very close to losing Chaz and our lives would have been impacted greatly. We are very thankful for a happy ending.
I’m sure he was a responsible pet owner.. .. more like a backyard breeder. Who would breed their female dog at 1.5 year old, and let the couple them escape repeatedly from the yard? Start keeping them in the house while you fix the fence!
I do feel sorry for the dogs, as always, it’s the owner’s stupidity that gets them killed..
I don’t know what to think I LOVE the police but I also LOVE bully breeds.I have heard of a story were a officer was bragging about how he almost had to shoot a PIT BULL due to aggretion but the guy we heard the story from had met the dog just a few minutes before the officer arrived on the scene and the dog was NOT aggressive,thankfully this dog didn’t get shot.
I believe the owner was at fault, it is our responsibility to keep our companion animals safe at all times. For the writer of this story to say “I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can say their dog never got loose” is really assuming a lot! I had a Yorkie who lived to be 18 1/2 years and he never got loose because I watched to make sure he didn’t – he was my responsibility. The policemen were probably breed biased though, which is really stupid since any dog is capable of attacking when provoked – I guess next they’ll start shooting Chihuahuas too.
to bulldog fan i have 2 staffordshire bull terriers who are both dog friendly. In fact one of them makes a point of saying hi to every dog he sees. If staffs are properly socialise they have every chance of being dog friendly.
I don’t think the cops are at fault…we are all crazy about our dogs on here, but we can’t expect every one else to be just like us…
The cops at my department LOVe dogs for the most part, and go WAY out of their way to help animals. But remember, cops deal with CRIMINALS, not ANIMALS…. our guys get NO TRAINING in ANIMAL CONTROL….
I think before anyone jumps to conclusions, you have to know the individuals involved and the dogs involved….
Hi Maria,
Yes, I shouldn’t have said “I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can say their dog never got loose.” There are obviously people who have never had their dog escape, but many people have dealt with dogs who have slipped a collar or dug out of a yard.
Sometimes things happen, that’s why it’s called an accident. It doesn’t mean you aren’t good pet parents. In this case are they good pet owners? I’m not going to judge, but I do agree about not bringing more unwanted puppies into this world. Go to a shelter and adopt.
As the owner of an American Pit Bull Terrier, this story deeply saddens me. Unfortunately, Pit Bull owners have to be extra cautious. Our worst fear is Sheba biting someone. When it comes to pits, it’s shoot first, ask questions later. It’s a very sad, sad story.
The police just cant win in this. If they wouldn’t have shot the dogs, and the man got bit, or if someone else got hurt, then people would be screaming “ why didn’t you protect those people!!!!” they had no way of knowing if the dog was going to hurt the man. And since the man COULD NOT HEAR how would he have known if they were knocking on the door to tell him the dog was there? What should they have done, let the dogs run on the streets and maybe bite a child, maybe even kill one? Just because the man says his dogs are nice doesn’t mean they were. Either way, the police have no way of knowing., and their job is to protect humans first.
Sorry, but two dogs often are MORE dangerous than just one – there can be a pack mentality. Mr. Outlaw needs to keep his dogs in his yard – and perhaps stop breeding pit bulls (nine more puppies, give me a break). How often have we heard, “they never hurt anyone before” about any of the dogs (pit bull or otherwise) that have attacked – and sometimes killed – children, elderly, people in wheelchairs. And the owners always talk about how loving the dogs were with their families – that does not keep everyone else safe – sorry, but that’s not a blanket pass for everyone else who is not family and famliar to the dog. Glad the police were available to possibly have saved the man who was deaf. I love dogs. I believe it’s the OWNERS that create these very difficult scenarios. Not the police.
Very sad
Oh well, here goes… This incident happened only two towns away from me. I can tell you all, our police are not partial to dogs…period… They are rather cold and uncaring when it comes to animals.
A couple of years ago, I was driving on a highway here. It was as sunny day, but their was a weird storm with plenty of thunder coming my way. Also coming my way, straight into 65mph cars was a large mix breed! You could tell she was terrified of the thunder and running for her life. I knew she didn’t have a chance, because at the point on the road that I saw her coming was also where the emergency lane ended. No place to go, except straight into cars. In a frantic, I got off at the next exit as fast as i could, and turned back around. Their she was, and I couldn’t stop again because their wasn’t any emergency lane to do so. So I kept going, knowing that their are always cops looking for speeders. I found one and he took he’s sweet time before he would escort me to check out the dog. When we got their, he had this dumb grin on his face, showed no remorse for the dog and wouldn’t even check to see if she was still alive. I tried to see if I could feel her if her heart was still beating or not or feel her breathing. Nothing… and that stupid cop actually mocked and giggled at me, for trying..and made a wise crack about stupid dogs!!
Their have been other stories about our cops when it comes to animals. They couldn’t care less. So the fact that two dogs that look similar to a pit bull is enough to shoot.. They wouldn’t know the difference between the breeds if you were to put them right in front of their face!
I do feel that the owners admission that the dogs have gotten loose before is at fault to begin with.
And let us all applaud this owner for bringing in 9 more pups into this world just to make money, when their are thousands being pts every day..
I have no sympathy for the owner, only his dogs!
I find it very interesting that people are more upset about what the police did in this case than they were about the Princeton cops who arrested the black college professor at his own house who did nothing! Our society really has things mixed up. The dogs were charging an old man. What should the police have done, waited to see what happened? I believe the police would have shot ANY large breed of dogs charging someone. I get sick of people with bully breeds playing the pit bull “woe is me” card. If you have those breeds you have to be extra diligent to take care of and manage them. You chose those breeds on your own knowing full well the reputation they have, and let’s be honest, those breeds do more damage to humans and other animals when they do bite than just about any other. The only person at fault here is the irresponsible dog owner.
I’m with you Animal lover! They could have conerd them, held there and called animal control. (Jerks!!)
don’t judge by the breed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO sad.
Ya I have seen this happen a lot, specially in TX, rather people want to believe it or not, I have realized from personal experience, and cause I have friends that are cops. Now I’m talking about majority not minority, this is actually sad, but cops do dislike and are against pit bulls they don’t like them. Just because they some are vicious.and cause they are “pit bulls”. I use to have a American staffordshire. I mean I never did anything to this cops when ever they see me with my dog I would get really ugly dirty looks. Just because my dog was intimidating to them. But reality is this no matter what anyone says says, people are always going to try to talk down to you because they have done this for 5 years. There is people that have the wrong impression about this nice innocent dogs. All because of some idiots gangsters. That could have access to this dogs, and take them as like if they were rag dolls, use them manipulate there dogs. Teach them to kill and fight. This is how it all began. They thought making a couple hundredth thousand for each fight was great. When in reality they knew mentally that this dogs were going to become mean dogs. It upsets me how cold people can be to do this to animals, but it is the truth, Cause of this A_____ now people have the wrong impression. “pit bulls” don’t kill cause they love to kill, and cause it is in there blood. They kill cause this jerks trained them to be what they are. You cannot expect to have a dog tight up in the back or loose, when in your mentality common sense tells you. Your dog is thirsty for blood.
Like the author said we will never really know what really was going through those dogs heads. But Only you the owner knows your dog better than anyone else. I was really a lot of the blogs that people wrote. I disagree with some of you. I really don’t care to hear it either, cause your just people that have nothing better to do but to talk smack… When you really don’t know the story behind this dogs. They are not mean. It is the owners that make them this way. If this was the case than ask yourself why do a lot of celebs have them.When there are so many other dogs out there to choose from.
Oh I almost forgot perfect example, there is a lot of cops out there that need to be analyzed and rechecked to make sure they are mentally and physically stable to be cops. Reason I state this is because I see this in the news all the time. There was a man that they were chasing cause the poor guys was scared. I know that if you feel guilty about anything and a government officer is chasing you. Common sense if going to tell you run. Well finally this man had stopped, and when he turn the officer told him “put your hands up so we can see them” well the guy puts his hand in his coat… The stupid police thinking it was a gun… It turned out the be a pen. Well now the poor guy is dead. Ya I know every state is different, and they are trained different. But I think police need to go though training again. They train you to know this things. It’s exactly what happened to this dogs. They were charging they did not know what they were going to do. So what does the cop do? shoot the dogs. There was a way of avoiding this. They take advantage of there authority. Just like “security officers” but oh well I guess this is life this is why society is the way it is. It’s all about revenge. People wake up and smell the coffee we all need to realize this world we live in is becoming harder and harder while days go by. We all need to help each other, forget about the past start a new beginning. Listen to the wise men “quote”
This was totally the owner’s fault.He knows how bias the police are about the “bully breeds”, and yet he set his beautiful dogs up to be killed.I have a rottweiler, and he is NEVER allowed out in the front yard, or even to the car without a leash.I’m not saying one day there might be a mistake, but this man’s dogs had gotten loose before.I hope that the innocent pups will go to a home that is safe.
I’m sorry if this offends anyone but I just honestly can’t help but think that if it was a cute little lab with it’s tongue hanging out running after the kids, it wouldn’t have been shot. I highly doubt the dogs were even acting agressive. The police just saw pit and shot.
I’m sorry if this offends anyone, but I honestly think that if it had been a cute little pair of labs running around with their tongues hanging out, they wouldn’t have been shot. I bet those dogs weren’t acting agressive at all. The police saw pits and shot. Maybe the police should be trained to identify the difference between an agressive dog and a dog that is just out roaming around. Tell me how many dogs that are loose and getting adventurous wouldn’t follow running children??
woops sorry about that double post there. My paws aren’t used to laptop touch pads! I wanted to add that it’s unfortunate that the owner couldn’t manage to keep his dogs confined to his property. i know many people with many more dogs, and many people with amazing escape artist dogs, yet they manage to keep them from escaping and roaming the streets. What an unfortunate thing to happen.
I have a story about cops actually caring about animals. I heard this story from my breeder, who I guess is well known in the area. She was going to away to visit a friend who was just diagnosed with cancer. She told the sitter that she had made sure all holes near the fence were filled and any holes in the fence mended by to watch them in the yard just in case. Then she changed her mind and said she’d better walk them instead just in case. She received a call while in Ga that my daddy and an apricot female, Lily, had escaped the yard. She said, “I’ll give you (sitter) 20 min to find them and then I’ll call the police.” So 20 minutes have passed and she has heard nothing. She call the police an asked them if anyone had seen 2 loose standard poodles. The police officer told her they had shut down Rt 1 because of these 2 poodles. This is a divided highway and the state police were even involved. She said she died at least 100 times that night. She kept getting reports from various sources that one looked like it had been hit then the other looked like it had been. She had tons of volunteers helping to try to catch these 2 terrified dogs. Louis, my dad, was almost hit by a car going 70mph when he tried to get to my breeder’s brother. She said the police got a demonstration of the agility of the standard poodle using the jersy barriers. Finally the pair disappeared into the woods and no one saw them after. She flew home the next day. She immediately went to the woods were they were last seen. She was in there 20 min when Louis came to her and she saw another dog further away. At first she thought it was Lily but then she got a closer glimpse it looked like a GSD no wait it was a COYOTE! Louis had been hanging out with a coyote. She looked for hours and hadn’t found Lily so she went home for a few minutes. She received a call while home from a guy who had seen a poodle. He wanted to talk about all the commotion the night before thinking that she was the mayors daughter or something lol. She told him to just tell her where he had seen the poodle. She was seen near a shopping center. So she went to the location and just picked a direction to go. She has no clue why she went that way but she found Lily cowering under some bush. She was about to bolt so she put down the flashlight and let her hear her and see her and lily finally came to her. She was walking funny and she thought something must be broken so she was scooped up and brought to the vet. The vet said from the way she was walking nothing looked broken, maybe she had been hit and was just sore. She got home and discovered the issue. The poor girl had run her paws raw. She sent thank you cards to all the people and police depts that helped try and catch her dogs. On the cards was a picture of Lily all wrapped up in gauze. A happy end to what could have been a disaster.
Dogs behave differently when loose. These 2 poodles were friendly and social yet even her brother couldn’t catch them. They were so terrified. You can’t definately say that those 2 dogs were definitely friendly when loose. How many times have we heard someone yell “(s)he’s friendly” as their dog charges towards yours? Just because the owner claims their dog is friendly doesn’t mean they are, especially when they are loose away from their owner. Dogs can be unpredictable when loose. The officers did what they had to do. They could take the chance that the dogs were going to maul the old man. Their job is to protect human life. If they feel a human life is in danger, then they must act. A dog can be a deadly weapon so deadly force was met with deadly force. And yes there is a report of a chihuahua mix being shot after biting a police officer.
I’m not sure if a stun gun would work on a dog as they were meant for humans. Plus a stun gun can kill too. They have killed humans, I would think it would be easier to kill a dog with one. Plus I think they have to be within a certain distance range for a stun gun and with a targe that is so fast I don’t know that they would be able to accurately hit a dog with one. Stun guns have tiny barbs that embed into the skin to deliver the shock. The only way to approve them for use on dogs would be poor innocent dogs being used as test subjects to see if they are effective.
This type of stuff that the police are doing, just makes me sick and I am sad to say that I am almost finished with my Criminal Justice program. I don’t want to be associated with loser police officers, who shoot to kill, especially YOUNG dogs, who don’t know any better, just because of their breed. Those type of people make me sick and very, very angry.
Thats so mean and sad. They shot the dogs for no reason :’(
we all know how these dogs are victim off the worse kind off rasism.
it’s time to open our eyes to this shameful behavior
This is indeed a very sad story. I feel terrible for the owner and the dogs alike. However, one thing I would like to say is that, although I know it is easy to get bully breeds mixed up because they do look very similar, the dogs pictured in the article are NOT Staffordshire bull terriers. They look more like American Staffordshire Terriers. Its obvious to see by their size and facial features. Getting the different breeds mixed up doesnt help their reputations. Im just tired of American Pit Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers being called Staffordshire bull terriers (which are small and usually weigh no more than 35 lbs), Bull Terriers(egg-shaped head), and American Bulldogs to try and cover up what they actually are because of a bad rap. All of the mentioned breeds are great, wonderful dogs, but should be called what they are so people dont get confused and assume they are all “pit bulls”.
As for my experience, dogs only escape their homes, if they are not exercised correctly and are bored – ie. want to roam to find something more interesting to do. I could leave my door wide open and my dogs would not budge, as they are taken out and run and worked every day, so why would they want to escape? Any person that has trouble with an “escapee dog” should look at the reason why they are wanting so badly to get out in the first place. Then unfortunate incidents like this would not occur – does not sound like the police officers handled this in the best possible way either!
I think that Police are way out of control on this. My dog was shot by a cop too & it devastated me. Just because she was a Pit Bull. They are giving those breeds a bad rep. I think there was probably something else that could have been done in this case instead of shooting them!
Oh that is very sad. A friend of mine…they have 2 staffordshires and they are the friendliest dogs….they always run up to you and want you to pet them. I’m sure those dogs were just running up to get a pet or something and that they weren’t going to bite….but probably they didn’t know, but still you would think they would try to do something than shoot first….sometimes you just can’t tell especially if you don’t know the breed well. But I do know they are friendly and they like to jump up at you playfully. I just feel terrible that they shot these dogs.
Yes…those dogs in the photo are American Staffordshire terriers….they are not Bull Terriers.
Scrolling through and reading many of these comments that are saying what horrible dog owners the Outlaws were are kind of ignorant. First of all, it is not a crime to breed dogs and yes maybe they weren’t show quality dogs but it really doesn’t matter and secondly, for those who say that they should have fixed the escaping problem probably didn’t bother to think that maybe the owners did and that the dogs found other means of getting loose. If you had read that the dogs were fenced in a yard and chained to the ground you would probably still be saying that they were bad owners because they were chained AND fenced and that if they had to be both then they were probably aggressive blah blah blah. Some people will find any excuse to put down other dog owners, no one is perfect gees.
I’m no defender of the police, but they probably had no choice in shooting those dogs – their mission is public safety, not dogsitting for irresponsible owners.
Deal with it folks – the owner is 100% to blame.
I agree that the owner is to blame,as pet owners we are responsible for keeping our pets safe at all times. The sad outcome is that 2 loved family pets are dead. Could the police have better handled the situation…probably. If they were a different breed would they still be alive… maybe. Bottom line if they had been properly secured this would never have happened. I love “pits”. have raised my children with them . They are loving, loyal ,tolerant pets, but as an owner we need to be extremely vigilant.
As said above we are held to a higher standard
Let me just say in most areas pits are registered with the city with pictures and all kinds of identification on them and insurance. Mine is where I live and everyone in my town knows my Pit. He’s chipped with two tags on him and they have my work and home number and know where I live, can get to me in three minutes to tell me he’s loose. Mine pit is NEVER outside alone or in a fenced yard. I only hope the officers didn’t shoot just because they were Pits. Had it been me, and I’d cornered them I’d have called animal control, collected them an taken them in alive unless there were actually doing harm to a human being. But that we’ll never know since the dead dogs can’t speak for themselves. Just a sad situation period!! Pits are rough dogs and not for everyone. When playing they can be very rough and could be seen as being aggressive. I love my Pit with all my heart!! I just wish people would take the time to understand these dogs. They are brilliant, loyal, loving animals.
These dogs have gotten a bad name for years now. And it’s because these idiot drug dealers think they need them to look cool and we have idiots like Vick and other people that fight them. I have a Pit and yes, he may very well bite you if he thought some one was gonna get in my car or do me bodly harm. I do not encourage it but he is a DOG. They are not supposed to be confined or tied to a log chain or starved. Do that to me and I’ll bite you too. I’m sick of these animals being shot and I’m sick of owners not taking care of them. However I think these dogs were loved and these officers were in the wrong. Everytime a fighting ring seized and dogs rescued the animal control officers walk right up the them and take them out, they show it on TV. Crap they are so glad someone has rescued them all they want is food, water and kindness. Whe you have to torture a dog to make him fight a red flag should go up. dah.. they do not want to fight to begin with.. If in fact these dogs were going to hurt someone that’s a different story, but still shooting one four times and one in the fence. Sounds pretty outrageous to me. All animals need to be taken care of an until something is done in each state about Pits and their right to live in communites without being banned then we are all losing our beloved pets. Write your congress men and govenors. The problem we have is not enough people creaming. For someone to tell us that we cannot have these animals is nothing but discrimination. I love my Pit and would die for him, I absoutely adore this animal…and he would do the same for me. We have rules in my town and I follow them carefully because I Love My Dog, I don’t mind the rules but.. NO one will take him from me because of a ban. Sorry just not gonna happen. I’d move first. So the best thing for everyone to do is get on line and do some emailing. Dogs are considered chattell, like horses or cows, is anyone aware of that. Well they are, that’s why it’s so hard for the laws to be changed. Get on line an scream to your law makers. And yes, the law can be changed.
Personaly, while I feel awful the owner lost his dogs, I point the finger of blame RIGHT AT HIM. period.
As a dog owner, it is OUR responsibility that our dogs not get out..espc those who have proven they are “escape artists”..although, because I dont know anything about this story, I cant say if they were truly contained well or, like many in my town, have fences with holes or areas they can get out.
Add onto that, both these dogs were not spayed or neautered???? I simply have to shake my head.
I dont think the police did anything out of line..they have a job to do…the only victims in this case were the poor dogs who if they had had a more responsible owner would still be alive today…
Ihave a neighbor that loves it when one of my dogs runs free!!At first he didn’t like it because he thought my dog would hurt his 2yr old son, my dog has knocked the little boy down several times and each time he has told me thank you for having the dog!!1.copperhead snake in play area dog knocked him away and killed snake.2 a bobcat was in the bushes and dog was protecting the child 62 stitches to the dog, he gladly paid for it!!3 child got to close to the horses and dog protected him from said horses. My boxers are trained to protect my little chi’s from wildlife,and they are also trained to protect my grand kids,we live way out in the boonies and they can react quicker to things then we humans can.