My dog was shot and killed by an off-duty officer

[Miyabita]

Oh my goodness. I would be so sick and devistated if my Cricket were to be shot! I freaked out just because he had a little bald patch on his leg and I thought he was getting alopecea (where they go bald). I can't imagine how I would feel if he were shot without just cause. It seems like a dogs like him would be safe (he is all of around 8 pounds, and not much over a foot tall), but now I wonder.

I am so sorry for your loss. I do hope you get some justice out of this. Police don't shoot people just because they feel threatened. Even if they do, they shoot to injure, not to kill. With people, they are supposed to use guns only as a very last resort. Why not with dogs?

[Goofball]

I'm sorry to hear about that. That's got to be tough. I can't help but wonder what an off-duty officer was doing with his weapon.

I've heard it argued that law enforcement is a stressful job and cops really can't always take the time to think about other ways of dealing with the issue. That still only holds water to a certain extent. Certainly we have too many power-hungry cops who IMO claim self defense because they know they can get away with it. And of course the "law enforcement is stressful and the cops can't take the time" issue holds NO water whatsoever when the cop is off duty.