Kremmling resident mad that dog got shot

By Tonya Bina, Sky-Hi News

A Kremmling resident is angered that a police officer shot his dog.

Adam Baird's Weimaraner-Labrador mix named Piston is “not a violent dog,” Baird said, despite an Oct. 15 incident when, according to Kremmling Police Chief Scott Spade, Piston “lunged” at Kremmling Officer Tom Backer.

Spade said that Backer was right to use force in that situation.

Piston had escaped his fenced-in area attached to the Baird home that day and allegedly showed his teeth and growled at a lady in the vicinity of the Mountain Dollar Store across the highway, which led the woman to call dispatch stating she was “almost attacked” by the dog, according to the Grand County Sheriff's Office calls log.

After Piston had already returned home, Backer and the victim located him.

Officer Backer exited his police vehicle parked in the Baird driveway, according to Spade, and as he walked toward the Baird home, Piston jumped over the fence of his enclosed area and “lunged” at Backer, the dog allegedly barking and baring his teeth.

At that point, the officer discharged his firearm with the intent to harm Piston, but the bullet “grazed” the dog.

Baird had been home at the time, but did not see the event, he said.

“I understand my dog was out, and I understand he might have scared someone, but without him biting someone, to use deadly force I think is unacceptable,” Baird said.

According to the dog owner, Piston has never bitten anyone, although he can appear “boisterous” and intimidating.

“If he doesn't know you, he'll bark at you to protect the kids,” Baird said.

To Baird, Piston was just protecting his home and Baird's two young children, who were also home at the time. “There were kids running around,” Baird said. “(Piston) barks at people here and there but, other than that, there has never been an incident where he's bitten someone and, if he did, I wouldn't own him anymore.”

Spade confirmed there have been no formal past complaints concerning Piston.

After the shot, Piston immediately returned to his enclosure, according to both Baird and Spade.

Baird was cited for having a “dog at large” and for having a “viscous dog.”

According to Spade, the officer felt as though he was in harm's way and shot Piston to protect himself.

“Joe Public can't go out and be shooting dogs, but neither am I going to allow my law enforcement officers to put themselves in jeopardy,” Spade said.

Last week's incident echoes a similar shooting in March of 2006, when Chief of Police Glen Trainor killed a 50-pound pregnant boxer he mistook to be a pit bull in Fraser. The shooting of the dog, named Angel, in that incident similarly took place prior to the arrival of Animal Control.

According to a news report based on the police account of the 2006 controversial dog shooting, Angel had frightened pedestrians near the dog's home, and when Trainor arrived, the dog left the porch and “aggressively advanced towards Trainor while growling and barking with its ears laid back and the hair on its neck standing up.”

Because a gun was discharged, the case of Piston is now under investigation through the Grand County Sheriff's Office and the 14th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

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Lincoln officer shoots loose pit bull

From Lincoln Journal Star

A Lincoln police officer shot a pit bull early Saturday morning.
The officer saw a pit bull sitting inside a running vehicle as he was walking into the Kwik Shop at 33rd and Holdrege streets at 4 a.m.
When the officer exited the convenience store, he noticed that the pit bull was not in the car, so he began searching for the dog. The pit bull was loose and roaming around the building.
Lincoln Police Capt. Joseph Wright said the pit bull charged at the officer, aggressively showing his teeth. The officer tried keep his distance, but the dog persisted.
Police reports say the officer shot the pit bull on its left side. The dog ran away and was found bleeding at 34th and Starr streets.
Animal Control took the pit bull to the Veterinary Emergency Services, 3700 S. Ninth St. At 10 a.m. Saturday, Wright said the dog was still alive.

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Pit Bull Attacks On Rise; Police Blame Owners, Not Dogs In Some Cases

From WPXI

Pittsburgh police said pit bull attacks are becoming a big problem in Allegheny County. So far, seven people have been attacked by the dogs this year.
In several of those cases, police and humane agents blame the owners of the dogs, not the dogs themselves.
On Wednesday, humane agents were called to a Beechview home on an animal neglect call. When they arrived, they said they found three dogs living in the driveway, with a pit bull tied to a truck.
Human officer Christine Luffey, who is also a pit bull attack victim, said owners who neglect or abuse dogs are the reason for many of the recent attacks.
"Animals that are neglected are prone to being aggressive," said Luffey.
Luffey said she and her dogs were attacked by three pit bulls last spring as they walked near her Beechview home.
"If they had their way, my dogs would have been dead and so would I," Luffey said.
More recently, two pit bulls bit a boy at playground in Marshall-Shadeland last weekend. On Monday, a woman and her dog were mauled by a pit bull outside of Aspinwall.
According to records, there were 133 animal bites reported in 2009 and among the reports, nearly half of them were from pit bulls.
Experts say the dogs are often raised to fight for money and are taught to be aggressive. Humane agents said when adopting a pit bull, owners need to take a proactive approach to raising the dog to be obedient and safe.
"They can't be confined in a basement, they need human contact," said Human Officer Bob Gosser.

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Pit Bull Dog Stolen

From Bowling Green Daily News

Someone took a 5-month-old female pit bull dog from outside a residence in the 1900 block of Sandra Street between 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a city police report.

The woman who reported the theft told police she had been caring for the pit bull, which belonged to her brother, and had kept it chained outside. The dog is valued at $2,000.

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5 Arrested, 7 Dogs Seized in Alleged Fighting Ring

By Jane Flasch, WHAM

She is so friendly she gets up to greet visitors in spite of her pain.  Dozens of bite wounds cover the body of this 2 year old pit bull.  Police found her bleeding in the attic, fresh from a prolonged fight. "It’s not a quick couple of bites like you’d see in a street fight,” says animal cruelty investigator Reno DiDomenico.  “These dogs are trained to fight for 2 hours or more so they go though a lot of trauma and tearing of the flesh.”Police called to investigate alleged drug crimes at this empty building on North Street instead found a wooden fighting ring set up in a rear wear house area.  A second dog-injured but in better shape – was seized from a car.Investigators discovered five other pit bull-mixed breed dogs in a pen in the basement.  Two of them had deep scars on their muzzles and heads from previous fighting.Carlos Contreras and Andrew Liberi now face felony animal fighting charges.  Benji Hood and brothers Darius and Robert Peterson were later arrested and charged with owning dogs used for fighting.Cruelty investigators say animal fighting goes on in the Rochester area often, most likely weekly.  The motive is money, many gamble on the fights.  Because the wooden rings are portable they are moved from place to place and infiltrating these operations is difficult.In this case, the irony is that all of the seized dogs are affectionate, even timid around people.  “They have very good temperaments,” says investigator DiDomenico adding “they are friendly to people but not to other animals.”The dogs will be evaluated and will likely be given over to rescue homes or people familiar with how to raise animals that have had this kind of fight training.  They will not be available for adoption to the public, but Lollypop Farm says people who want to help can do so by donating for their medical and other care.Sunday’s tip off to police came just in time for the most injured of the dogs.  She will recover.  Starting today, her life will get better

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Police: Suspected drug dealer had 82 grams of packaged cocaine in home

By Dennis Sullivan, From Chicago Tribune

A suspected drug dealer is being held in the Will County Adult Detention facility in lieu of $300,000 bail.
Edward Gutierrez, 43, of the 2100 block of Siegel Drive in Crest Hill is scheduled to appear in Will County court Nov. 10 on a charge of manufacture/delivery of more than 15 grams of cocaine.
The charge is a Class X felony that carries a mandatory sentencing range of six to 30 years upon conviction.
Joliet Police arrested Gutierrez on Oct. 19 at his home, where they also reportedly seized 82 grams of cocaine packaged in 13 bags, a digital scale and $1,029 in cash.
Joliet Deputy Police Chief Trafton said Gutierrez and his wife cooperated with the arrest, but police “neutralized a pit bull” in the home that was preparing to attack them.

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Port to put teeth in dog law amid pit bull uproar

By Kristyn Halbig Ziehm, Ozaukee Press

But revised ordinance will not target breeds as some animal owners feared

Port Washington officials said Tuesday they will work to strengthen the city’s existing vicious dog ordinance, but do not intend to regulate specific breeds of dogs.

Several aldermen said they have been inundated by e-mails and letters from throughout the nation after city resident Dan O’Connor said he planned to petition the council to impose strict regulations on pit bulls.

“I got bombarded,” Ald. Mike Ehrlich said, estimating he got as many as 20 e-mails, as well as several letters on the subject. Virtually all the writers opposed breed-specific legislation, he said.

Ald. Paul Neumyer concurred, noting many of the missives pointed out problems that have been experienced by communities throughout the nation that have enacted breed-specific laws.

“We haven’t even scheduled anything on this,” he said.

While both aldermen said they understand O’Connor’s concerns about pit bulls, they said breed-specific laws are difficult to enforce.

“I think it’s just opening up a nightmare,” Ehrlich said. “Rather than the dog, I think a lot of it has to do with the owner.”

Neumyer said the city already has an ordinance dealing with vicious dogs — albeit one that needs strengthening.
“We can tweak the ordinance on vicious dogs to make it work,” he said. “I understand his (O’Connor’s) concern, but we already have an ordinance that deals with vicious dogs.”

City Atty. Eric Eberhardt said he hopes to meet with Police Chief Richard Thomas later this week to discuss revisions to the vicious dog ordinance.

The need for the ordinance to be revised was pointed out by O’Connor, who was in his yard with his two young sons last month when a pit bull wandered in. After O’Connor told his sons to run into the house, the dog chased one of the boys, then turned to chase the other.

O’Connor and his other son got into the house and the dog left the yard. However, it entered a neighbor’s yard and bit the neighbor in the hand, according to police.

The incident prompted O’Connor to announce plans to petition aldermen to enact regulations on pit bulls. 

“To me, it’s so blatantly obvious something needs to be done,” he said at the time. “Under Port Washington’s ordinance, all dogs are the same. But different breeds of dogs are different. It’s important not to overlook a dog’s nature.

“A pit bull is not a wiener dog.”

The city’s ordinance on vicious dogs states that no one may keep a vicious dog in the city, and defines this type of animal as a dog that may suddenly assault a person or his property while he is walking or riding on the public streets or on the premises of the dog’s owner.

“That’s certainly lacking,” City Administrator Mark Grams said, since dogs that attack other animals or people in their yards are not covered by the ordinance.

However, he said, he does not believe the council will look at breed-specific legislation.

“I don’t think they want to go there,” Grams said.

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