What Is Your Opinion of This News Story?

I think the officer did what he was supposed to do. He did not know this animal so how would he know if it was a friendly dog or if it had rabies. If I was the barn owner or the officer I would have shot the dog too. I love animals but we forget that they are animals, their temperament can change at a moment’s notice in different situations.

Friends of mine once had two husky's and they were both very nice dogs, however if they would get a hold of a smaller (or weaker) animal they would tear it to bits (I once helped clean up what was left of a rabbit).

I understand that it totally sucks that their dog got shot, but the officer probably did not have a tranq gun and he did what was best to save the most animals possible. Perhaps the owners should receive the bill from the vet after he patches up the bites the horses received, and then they will realize their dog was being aggressive.

I agree, the bit is so short that it's hard to say and I don't think it's telling the whole story. I do know that huskies are a breed with a very strong predatory instinct so even a dog that is good with people may become aggressive and go after potential prey animals, or even cats. And it's possible they had already attempted to capture the dog but were faced with the potential of being hurt themselves. Or they just had to act very quickly. I'm sorry that the dog's owners lost their dog but it's their responsibility to keep their pet under control. In many areas where farmers own livestock, the farmer is completely justified in shooting any loose dog that comes on their property and is threatening or attacking their animals - it's their livelihood and it's perfectly legal for them to take whatever means are necessary to protect it. The animal control officers I have known love animals and that's why they are in the job they are in. I'm sure it was not an easy decision for them to have to make.

It's also possible that they were not equipped with tranquilizer guns. And, you have to shoot the dart into the right spot (preferably hind-leg muscle) for it to work and a dog is a relatively small target compared to an animal like a horse or a rhino. The dog could have been moving around too much to be accurate The dosage has to be accurate too. And they take time to work - at least several minutes, which may have been too much time to allow this dog to keep biting at the other animals.

A police officer is not a wildlife servant. Tthe owner had a right to protect his property and livestock. The officer had a duty to the caller and the public. It is so easy for animal lover for me to get carried away with wanting to save them all. But an officer is rarely trained in dealing with animals, and in cases like these is justified in his decision. My hear goes out to the huskies owners, losing beloved pet in such a tragic way.

As for a tranquilize,r they are stricly regulated, and not widely distributed for very good reasons. They are can be unreliable and are not a good choice for emergency situations. There is a reason they are used in very controlled situations by someone that knows how to use them.

Um... 1 dead dog vs a barn full of potentially dead horses and goats...

I kiiiiiiind of see why they shot the dog.

HOWEVER... I don't know what their protocol usually is, and yeah, it seems a bit extreme to me. If they carry tranquilizers, that should have been used first.

What comes to my mind are several things...

1) Huskies do not usually behave that way (well, they LOOOOVE smaller "prey")

2)Is it possible they thought it was a wolf???

3)If the animal slipped loose from the collar, I assume that this dog was on a walk? Didn't the owner run after him? Shouldn't they be there on the scene, too?

4)If the dog was tied up outside, how often is the dog like that? Perhaps that contributed to the dogs aggressive behavior??

5) If an animal is on someone property attacking your animals, you can shoot it. I know it was the officer that shot it, but just saying, If the homeowner decided to shoot it, no one would be wondering "why didn't they use a tranquilizer gun?" cause NORMALLY people don't have those things on hand. Just a consideration...

6) Have they checked the farm animals for wounds or any evidence that this dog was actually attacking them?

7) Not really that important, but did the dog live on a farm as well?

8) a HUSKY got away, there was STRONG possibility that the owner of the dog wouldn't see him again anyways! used to own a husky... they run and don't come back! (Our husky didn't run away, we just knew to be careful with him- he lived to be 21!!)

9) did the animal control officer even have a tranquilizer gun? Now, don't they need to measure the amount of it before they shoot it? Is the animal control officer equip to do that? i don't know a lot about this, so I may be totally off...

I'm an animal lover currently trying to find a dog for us to adopt (we have small kids and allergies, so what we are looking for is specific), but if an animal attacks another animal on the victim's property, that animal is definitely at risk of being shot

I would have had some questions:
-Did the horse show any marks of an attack? For a dog that was atticking a horse for at least 30 min., I didn't see much damage.
-How did the dog enter the place?
-Doesn't animal control have both, guns and tranquilizer?
-Does these two families have had any problems before?
-Did the lady that call animal control told them it was a dog or a wolf?

Unfortunately, is hard to say if the officer did wrong, since we were not there and see how bad (or no so bad) things where, I think ideally he should have use a tranquilizer, since he came to the house aware of part of the situation, that it was a dog and not a wolf.
On the other side, ALL animals (including humans) can sometimes snap, and if for some reason the officer didn't have with him a tranquilizer he did what he needed to do if the animals (and I guess the women too since she was there?) was in danger...
No matter what side, is still a sad story =*(

Amanda F. I didn't knew that, but it makes sense too, we may get to hear the officer part and he may explain why (perhaps you are right and they don't have the tranquilizers with them)

I'd like to know the whole story - sounds like something is missing here.

Personally - I wouldn't have shot the dog. I would have used a tranquilizer gun. However, none of us were there to see what was actually going on inside the barn.

So for me - tranquilizer gun WOULD HAVE been the way to go. But I was not there and I don't know what was happening. I would ask for a necropsy to be done on the dog to see if something happened (i.e. snake bite, rabies, etc.) prior to the dog's "escape" that would cause it to act in a way that it normally didn't.

The link to the article didn't work for me . . . I would say (without reading the article) that once the husky got in attack mode there was little that anyone could do without loss of life to the other animals. The officer probably made the right decision.

The owner of the husky should blame him/herself.

Huskies are finicky creatures. The half lab half husky I had was a complete escape artist. Had she been male her name would have been Houdini! Every husky I've ever known has been a "runner"...if they can get out to roam they will.

With that said, and I have not read the article, it would clearly depend on if the dog was aggressive. I do agree that even if the dog was aggressive a tranquilizer would have been a better choice. I should read the article and come back and update!

No, he should have used a tranq. dart. I believe many otherwise safe dogs would go after goats.

I grew up with dogs and horses. The dogs would often chase the horses but there was never a time I thought the horses were in any danger. It was their idea of "play."

A few years ago, my Akita got out. The front door had not been properly latched, a gust of wind blew it open and she got out while I was sleeping. A nightmare! I tracked her to an abandoned house a few blocks away out in the country. I contacted Animal Control to let them know that she was not abandoned and was generally sweet, but having been loose for several days she may become aggressive if a stranger approaches her. I asked if they had a tranquilizer gun. They asked if they had my permission to attempt to tranquilizer her if they saw her. I said, "Absolutely! I'd rather her feel off for a few days at home than get hit by a car or shot by someone scared of her!" Akitas can look fierce.

So, there are many unknowns in the story you shared, so it is hard to judge. It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes the laws put into place to protect some people and animals can actually lead to the death of others. I am very happy I was eventually able to catch my Akita without Animal Control and she is happily playing in my fenced backyard as I type.

If I were the owner I would be upset but if I hadn't let the dog get loose none of this would have happened. Would he be mad at the owner of a car that hit the dog killing him or any other scenario that would cause a loose animal's death.

It is tragic but not knowing anything about the animal what is that officer to assume. Why didn't the owner report his loss to animal control. Then the officer would have realized this was a lost pet and perhaps treated it differently.

If I was the Husky owner, I would be upset too. If I was the barn owner, I would be upset if the officer didn't doe whatever necessary to stop the attack. Ideally, he would have had the tranquilizer equally accessible so it could have been the first choice but if it wasn't I can understand not wanting to delay action. Another point would be that once an animal becomes aggressive/attacking, the behvior is often repeated. This post doesn't say if this was the first call regarding this Husky or one of many. I have not clicked on the link yet as I was simply responding to your question.

Well from what I read - the farmer says the dog was attacking the animals - but there is no investigative back up support that the farm animals were even attacked, seems they were simply harassed. Being as that is how I read the story - I think the officer was way out of line and should never have shot and killed an animal without a better cause then harassing another animal.

I wonder if they mistook the Husky for a wolf? That's my first instinct.

I think it is really sad, and yes, I think the AC officer should have tranqed the dog if they could (most of them don't carry tranq guns, though). But the home-owner themselves probably had the right to shoot the dog, which was actively aggressively on his or her property, so in the end, the result might have been the same.

I think it's a very sad situation.

That is sad!
But I bet tranquilizer darts COST more than a bullet and that's probably why they dont try tranquilizing first.
I'm sure this is going to cause an uproar and hopefully the rule will change.

Hard to say...I have 2 dogs that sleep in my bed LOL! So I cannot imagine either of them getting shot...how I would feel. Since I live in a very populated NYC suburb, I am not in much danger. But this is a sad story. Poor dog. Poor family. I don't know if the policeman was wrong or not. Tough to say.