No excuse to randomly shoot and kill a dog and claim self defense. I agree with the bolded
I'm a long time roommate of dogs. Would not be a comparable quality of life without them. Their interactions with my kids, wife and myself always made a positive difference, good times and bad.
Dogs seek to protect their packs (families) and territory. It is up to the humans to keep those traits strictly defensive. This is called responsibility. That's we have a 3 lb midget attack cat. Dog, at 120 lbs is routinely bullied into his place by her. He adores her and wouldn't have it any other way. During the almost 8 years he's been with us, I've witnessed the grandkids do unintentional horrible things to him. The worst he has responded has been to give them a face wash with his tongue, or knocked them over as tries to escape their clutches for a moment. My wife learned to never pat a baby's bottom to find out if a diaper change was in order. He'd push her away to make sure the baby was safe. The same with their mothers. That same baby could punch him the nose, poke him in the eye, pull his tail, grab his tongue, and that baby will suffer a face wash.
But when we are outside together, people who don't know he's a giant wuss, cross the street when they see us. 120 lb Dog can look intimidating. Whatever is going down, I say "here" and he is at my side. He knows he's getting a treat, a compliment and a neck rub. For him, few greater pleasures other than human food dropped on the floor.
Dogs bark when they are afraid, growl when getting ready to attack or when playing pull games. A medium to large dog barking, growling and running toward anyone can strike fear in the heart. I don't blame the officer, I do blame the irresponsible humans.
The Pitbull is not the most dangerous dog in America. The standard poodle and springer spaniel are the most frequent biters per capita. The most dangerous biters Labrador retrievers: 13.3%, Pit Bulls: 8.4%, German Shepherds: 7.8%, Rottweilers: 3.9%, Chows: 3.5%. Mixed breeds, mongrels are #6 at 2.7%.The most ferocious and best police dogs, Neapolitan Mastiffs and Boxers bred for large size. Both smart and unrelenting.
