We had a dog shooting here in Austin this week as well:
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=145339
Pet owner grieves after officer kills dog
9/12/2005 5:00 AM
By: James Keith
Pit bulls have long had a reputation for being violent dogs.
Kristen Butler with Trixie
So when two got out of a homeowner's yard in Georgetown last week, neighbors and Williamson County Sheriff's officials were concerned.
The pet owner thinks they went too far. Last Sunday, Kristen Butler’s pit bulls Trixie and Gauge got loose from the backyard.
"The next thing we knew, we heard shots from the front yard. We thought maybe one of the neighbors was trying to scare them off," Butler said.
The shots were from a Williamson County officer. Butler said he fired five shots, then as Gauge started to run back home, a sixth gunshot hit him in the head.
Butler said the deputy then made her clean up the mess.
"We actually had to take Dawn [dishwashing soap] out there and scrub up the remnants of him. That was probably one of the most difficult parts," she said.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office defended the officer's actions, saying 911 callers described the animals as aggressive. The deputy said the dogs tried attacking him.
Neither had registration tags and since they were roaming free, they were in violation of the county's leash law.
"It's like dealing with people. You don't get a bio of someone you're pulling over. We don't get a bio of how nice and friendly that dog is. We have to go on the facts presented to us when we pull up,” WCSO spokesman John Foster said.
Pet owners in Williamson County are required to keep dogs contained or on a leash. Violators face fines or the risk of losing their pet.
Butlers said her dogs are not inherently vicious and sleep with her. She accepts fault for the dogs getting out, but the whole ordeal is something she hopes to never go through again.
"More awareness on my part, maybe a little more sensitivity on their part. That's all I can hope for," Butler said.