CA - Police Dog Running Loose Shot, Killed By Neighbor

[Kevlar]

A Siskiyou County Sheriff’s dog was shot and killed early Tuesday after escaping from his pen to romp in a neighbor’s yard.

Gotto, a 12-year-old 80-pound Belgian Malinois shepherd, had worked eight years as a sheriff’s dog. He was a month from retirement, a department spokesman said.

Gotto, who lived and worked with sheriff’s Sgt. Behr Tharsing, helped deputies find missing persons and track down suspected criminals. He also specialized in sniffing out drugs, once finding 3½ pounds of crystal meth, the spokesman said.

An unidentified Montague man arriving home early Tuesday morning found Gotto in his yard. The neighbor’s own dog was in heat and he had sheep on his property, sheriff’s Capt. Jim Betts said.

The neighbor, who did not recognize Gotto as a police dog, tried to get him to leave. But the dog would not obey and became confrontational, Betts said.

>snip<

The neighbor, whose name was not released, will not be criminally charged, Betts said.

http://www.redding.com/news/2010/jul/15/sheriffs-dog-shot-in-escape/.

R.I.P. Gotto

 

[Admin]

Wrong place at the wrong time. [sad2]

 

[DickWanner]

Wrong place at the wrong time. [sad2]

Definitely this and only this. I'm just glad the home owner wasn't charged with assaulting a police officer or anything like that.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Hillbillies at it again.

 

[01SVTvert]

Most areas, including even MA, have laws that allow owners of livestock to shoot dogs harrassing them. Sheep in this state are specifically mentioned IIRC.

Sad, but I have seen many police k9s that are aggressive when confronted by somone they do not know.

 

[Zappa]

The neighbor’s own dog was in heat

Many good men have met their maker in a similar fashion, too bad you learned the hard way not to let the little head do the thinking for the big head.

RIP Officer Gotto..............you horndog.

 

[BigMike]

Sucks to hear. I love dogs more so than cops, but I would've loved to hug and kiss this particular cop.


No offense to the OTHER kind of cops

 

[Jose]

Hillbillies at it again.

Idiots ignorant of the laws in most of rural America (and Siskiyou County, CA is definitely rural) at it again.

 

[dcmdon]

It goes to the idea that there are very few bad dogs, only irresponsible or inconsiderate dog owners.

Its sad that a fine dog had to die. But the fault lies squarely with his handler.

Don

 

[Blitz1]

That Sucks. [sad2]

 

[rattletrap1970]

How's that work for the handler exactly. I mean, if a cop did something to endanger another cop and the cop dies because of it, wouldn't there be some repercussions? Just wondering.

 

[Martlet]

Idiots ignorant of the laws in most of rural America (and Siskiyou County, CA is definitely rural) at it again.

This

 

[KBCraig]

Hmmm... I read the story with a different take. I couldn't help but think of all those times police have shot dogs. Including some who were in their own yards, where they had a right to be, and the police didn't.

 

[Jose]

Hmmm... I read the story with a different take. I couldn't help but think of all those times police have shot dogs. Including some who were in their own yards, where they had a right to be, and the police didn't.

That's how I took it. Some people assign some special quality to dogs used by police.

I don't.

 

[MaroonedinMA]

That's how I took it. Some people assign some special quality to dogs used by police.

I don't.

This.

 

[DunkinFan]

Too bad for the tax payers I hear those dogs cost the towns a lot of money. I recommend watching the Military Channel's "War Dogs of the Pacific" it might give you an appreciation for some of these working dogs when you see 65+ years later talking about them still brings tears to the old GI's. Also had a great story of a soldier in Iraq who life was saved by a stray dog and then the dog somehow traveled 70+ mile with a stab wound to the lung, fighting off multiple wild dog packs to somehow find the soldier agian.The soldier sent the dog home to the United State to live with his family, it was a great story.