Federal Agent kills dog in dog park

[Encephalon]

Can any fellow Taoists come up with a more enlightened respone to this event? Just another example of trigger-happy jackbooters (in my pissed off, not-so-humble opinion).

 

 

Anne Arundel County police, facing public criticism, announced Wednesday that there will be a full investigation into the killing of a Siberian husky in a Severn dog park by an off-duty federal police officer.

 

When news of Bear-Bear's death first became public, a police spokesperson said that the matter was closed and that investigators found no evidence of criminal activity.

 

The county's top cop called the matter "a priority" Wednesday, and County Executive John R. Leopold says he was "outraged" and "deeply troubled" to learn about the shooting. Leopold says he contacted Chief of Police James Teare on Wednesday morning and demanded an investigation.

 

"This investigation is far from complete," Teare said Wednesday afternoon. "The Police Department takes this very seriously and will continue to investigate all aspects of the case."

 

Since news of the shooting broke, people from across the country, many with dogs of their own, have flooded online forums and showered officials with complaints. Television stations all but camped outside the home of Bear-Bear's owners, Ryan and Rachel Rettaliata. Animal advocates created Facebook protest pages with names like "Justice for Bear-Bear," while others started legal defense funds for the Rettaliatas and sought help from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

 

A federal police officer, who's 32 and works at Fort Myer in Virginia, shot Bear-Bear, a 3-year-old Siberian husky, Monday evening at the Quail Run community dog park, which is in a residential area.

 

Bear-Bear was playing off-leash in the fenced-in park when the officer arrived with his wife and leashed German shepherd named Asia. The husky's owner and the federal police officer have offered differing accounts of what happened next the officer told police that the husky tried to bite him and his dog, but Bear-Bear's owner says the dogs were playing.

 

The officer pulled a gun and shot the brown-and-white husky, who died from his injuries a few hours later. Neither the officer nor his wife reported any injuries to Asia, according to police accounts.

 

Teare said the story of Bear-Bear's death "hit home for a lot of people" and prompted his department to reverse its position on the case.

 

He said he now had numerous questions about the shooting, including whether the officer was legally allowed to carry a firearm, whether the gun was discharged in an appropriate and lawful manner and why the weapon was used at all.

 

 

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2010-08-04/news/bs-md-ar-dog-shooting-20100804_1_dog-park-bear-fenced-in-park

Edited August 6, 2010 by Blasto

[bindo]

Don't even get me started, man.

[orb]

....

Edited August 6, 2010 by orb

[Aetherous]

We weren't there, and are missing a lot of information.

 

Off duty cops can usually (always?) carry weapons, and have a right to protect themselves.

[bindo]

The dogs played briefly, then separated. But when Bear-Bear approached again, Putzi said, the situation changed.

 

"This dog was trying to get the dog down by the neck, the jaws of the husky were around the German shepherd's neck," the lawyer said. When the couple tried to intervene, the dog became aggressive toward them as well, Putzi said.

 

When Rettaliata's brother did not take control of the husky, Putzi's client shot the dog, the attorney said.

 

In responding to the officer's account, Rachel Rettaliata said, "If I were in his shoes, I probably would tell them the same thing."

 

Her pet, also a rescue dog, has a history of being friendly, she said. Her brother told her that the dogs began to play roughly and that the off-duty officer asked him to call off the dog. But before he could move, the officer shot Bear-Bear, she said.

[Taomeow]

I live in a dog land, there's even a dog beach nearby, and there's always dogs on "human" beaches too, and pretty much everywhere else. I have therefore seen dog play every day and a few dog fights too. I've seen two really nasty dog fights, with huge canine participants using neck holds and refusing to acknowledge the owners' interventions. In both cases the fights were broken up brilliantly and courageously. In the first instance, a young woman who was watching the fight happened to be holding a cup of Starbucks coffee in her hand. Upon realizing the owners were unable to control the dogs, she stepped into the gnarling snapping neck-holding leash-pulling mess and poured the hot coffee over one of the dogs, the aggressor. She later said it wasn't scolding hot so she knew it wouldn't cause a serious burn -- maybe a mild one -- and in any event it's easier on the dog's fur-covered skin than it would have been on a human -- but it was hot enough to immediately redirect the dog's attention, and then the owner promptly took charge. Everybody cheered and thanked the woman.

 

The second dog fight I saw occurred on the beach, and again ingenuity and courage prevailed -- the owner of one of the fighting dogs whom neither he nor the owner of the other one could pull apart jumped high in the air and threw himself on top of the dogs, landing on their backs and crushing them with his weight. Again it required thinking fast and taking a calculated risk, and it worked -- the dogs were dazed, confused, unharmed, and instantly peaceful.

 

So at the very least, the cop lacked intelligence, courage, and... OK, enough political correctness. He was a cowardly moron in the best case scenario. Worst case scenario -- he was something else... I don't know which. One of the two.

[Mal]

One of the guys I work with was off work for 2 months with leg injuries from trying to break up a dog fight during a BBQ at his house. Both dogs were "friendly" and "family pets" So no way I'd be getting anywhere near a dog fight. I've been on pig hunts too and those things...... it's not pretty, it's LOUD and scary.

 

My partner also had a concealed carry permit for work. They really drill into professionals the issues around discharging a firearm. So "But before he could move, the officer shot Bear-Bear" seems highly unlikely to me. However TIME in pressure situations behaves rather strangely. So I can understand how one person feeling that, while another would feel the same events unfolding at a snails pace.

 

Either way a very sad story

 

p.s. I've been in newspaper stories twice. And both times what was reported had little resemblance to what actually happened.

[Seth Ananda]

Having seen a really Nasty dog attack, I personally am all for shooting dogs that get enraged and won't obey their owner.

 

people [in my opinion] are way too lax with their pets, and we just let dogs and their owners get away with way too much all because having pets is an excepted part of our social convention.

 

so a dog got shot...

what about the millions of cattle that got slaughtered that day and that often lived in hideous conditions their whole life?

 

My friend had a sheep for a pet. I had always thought sheep were dumb animals, heck I grew up in the country. But this sheep was amazing, and so smart with a very funny personality. It would run back and forwards playing fetch games just like a dog, and it seemed to understand our conversations....

Just cause we think Dogs are somehow different.. and then put ourselves above the Asian country's that view dogs as just another food source...

[Encephalon]

Having seen a really Nasty dog attack, I personally am all for shooting dogs that get enraged and won't obey their owner.

 

people [in my opinion] are way too lax with their pets, and we just let dogs and their owners get away with way too much all because having pets is an excepted part of our social convention.

 

so a dog got shot...

what about the millions of cattle that got slaughtered that day and that often lived in hideous conditions their whole life?

 

My friend had a sheep for a pet. I had always thought sheep were dumb animals, heck I grew up in the country. But this sheep was amazing, and so smart with a very funny personality. It would run back and forwards playing fetch games just like a dog, and it seemed to understand our conversations....

Just cause we think Dogs are somehow different.. and then put ourselves above the Asian country's that view dogs as just another food source...

 

 

I mourn the obscenity of industrial meat production but I still find room in my heart to mourn the loss of the dog's life. I know I would be crushed if it happened to my animal, but my intention for this post was to solicit feedback on how others would have responded if they were in the off-duty officer's situation. Every day in America we are treated to another story about policemen being put on administrative leave for hasty shootings or unwarranted tasings of children and even the elderly. I have cops in both sides of my family, but many cops are the bullies we knew in high school who just wanted to go on in life throwing their belligerence around. And what's really frightening is how this has become the "new normal" with some uncomfortable parallels to the Wiemar Republic.

[thelerner]

One thing modern life has taught me is to with hold judgment til I know the whole story or more of it then a short internet version. I have sympathy for both sides, but the truth could go either way.

 

Seemingly friendly 'family dogs' have been known to bite and kill dogs and kids.

 

 

 

Michael

[Owledge]

Dogs, do you want to live forever?

 

 

Why is there so much enragement when there seems to be no impartial witness? We can't know what happened. If the story of the policeman is true, you can't blame him, considering the excitement that surely was part of it.

 

 

Why are they checking whether the policeman was allowed to carry a gun? I mean, he's POLICE and in the USA, in what case could it not be permitted?

 

 

My friend had a sheep for a pet. I had always thought sheep were dumb animals, heck I grew up in the country. But this sheep was amazing, and so smart with a very funny personality. It would run back and forwards playing fetch games just like a dog, and it seemed to understand our conversations....

Yes, there's too much cliché-thinking. It could very well be that farm animals commonly appear dumb because of the environment. After all, there's there to eat, get fat and be slaughtered. Humans growing up in that contitions would probably be 'dumb as sheep', too.

Of course, it could also be that farm animals only appear dumb to dumb observers.

 

I once read about a man having a Roe as a pet that was watching TV with him in the evenings.

 

And what's really frightening is how this has become the "new normal" with some uncomfortable parallels to the Wiemar Republic.

It's Weimar, not Wiemar.

 

Oh, and to make matters more confusing... it's Wiener, not Weiner.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Hardyg

[mike1234]

I support the officer. Aggressive dog attacking your pet + his wife was in harms way = death to bear bear.

 

The western world has gone crazy over animal rights-- it makes me sick.

 

I hate it when people abuse INNOCENT animals, but aggressive animals should be shot.

[Taomeow]

Having seen a really Nasty dog attack, I personally am all for shooting dogs that get enraged and won't obey their owner.

 

people [in my opinion] are way too lax with their pets, and we just let dogs and their owners get away with way too much all because having pets is an excepted part of our social convention.

 

so a dog got shot...

what about the millions of cattle that got slaughtered that day and that often lived in hideous conditions their whole life?

 

My friend had a sheep for a pet. I had always thought sheep were dumb animals, heck I grew up in the country. But this sheep was amazing, and so smart with a very funny personality. It would run back and forwards playing fetch games just like a dog, and it seemed to understand our conversations....

Just cause we think Dogs are somehow different.. and then put ourselves above the Asian country's that view dogs as just another food source...

 

Well, in Egypt the law that stipulated death penalty for anyone killing a cat was in existence for two thousand years. Coincidentally (?), these were the very years of staggering rise of Egyptian civilization to prosperity and great accomplishment. By contrast, in Europe they burned cats at the stake for 400 years in the heyday of inquisition, leading to their near-extinction from the continent. During this period, poverty and privations resulting from hundreds of famines became the everyday norm for 97% of the population -- cats, who keep rodents in check, are part of the agrarian society's economy, which collapses if rodents multiply exponentially, which they did. This culminated in the Black Plague epidemic brought by rats carrying infested fleas and overtaking the continent. The epidemic killed 3/4 of the human population in Europe.

 

The only dumb animal on this planet walks on two legs.

 

Using animals for food is fine, animals eat animals. Factory farming them to use for food is not fine. Killing an animal using a firearm is fine, animals kill animals. Just don't expect more respect for the deed than a dog would get for using excessive force. Eating dogs is fine long as they are not your family pets. In China, a law existed for two thousand years that allowed parents to eat their children in case of a famine. Parents didn't like to eat their own children, so they swapped with neighbors. The proverb still survives -- "swapping children, making food." (Source of info: Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization, by Richard Manning). To kill out of necessity is human. To kill just because you can is assinine.

 

Wait, it's vice versa. Asses don't do that. Humans do.

[Owledge]

Well, in Egypt the law that stipulated death penalty for anyone killing a cat was in existence for two thousand years.

Egyptians probably weren't curious back then. If you catch my drift. There's this popular saying.

 

The only dumb animal on this planet walks on two legs.

Birds? Ostrich? Kiwi?

 

In China, a law existed for two thousand years that allowed parents to eat their children in case of a famine.

To my knowledge, that also happened in ancient Egypt when the nile shrinked.

[gendao]

Too many Americans tend to be emotionally-immature and easily manipulable by media propaganda. And the sheer amount of hypocritical double-standards in "animal welfare" here pretty much negate any self-righteous "feel good" posturing.

 

For f's sake people, a million pets are abandoned, discarded and killed in animal shelters a year here. Yet, nobody seems to have a problem with that! But, when a single dog gets shot by a cop...now all of a sudden that's a problem? I guess because you can blame someone else other than all the "loving" pet owners out there using animals like disposable toys???

 

Gimme a f'n break.. How can you get outraged over 1 casualty, whilst totally looking the other way past millions of others???

[Owledge]

Gimme a f'n break.. How can you get outraged over 1 casualty, whilst totally looking the other way past millions of others???

This is what makes people so easily controllable, like an army of zombies and you are a wizard having them under your spell.

I call it heart-hijacking. Has everything to do with a propaganda machinery (media).

 

Incidents like these could even be made up to test the reaction of the sheeple. A kind of psycho-experiment.

[Pero]

Gimme a f'n break.. How can you get outraged over 1 casualty, whilst totally looking the other way past millions of others???

 

The death of one is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.

[Owledge]

The death of one is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.

Yes, the same sick view in society why someone shooting another person is a murderer, while someone being responsible by giving orders for the death of millions is a "leader".

[Encephalon]

I guess I'm ultimately responsible for intellectual level of this thread, since I'm the one who posted it.

 

I was most curious about how people, ostensibly modern warriors with some semblance of martial training, internal energy, and a well-developed reverence for life and non-violence could imagine alternative scenarios, given that fact that American culture is becoming more violent and trigger-happy. The onslaught of emotionalism, stream of consciousness writing, false generalizations, irrelevent comparisons...

 

We all have our reasons for continuing to participate in this forum. I frequently question my own.

[bindo]

[Taomeow]

We all have our reasons for continuing to participate in this forum. I frequently question my own.

 

"A wise man speaks because he has something to say. A fool speaks because he has to say something." -- Chinese proverb

[Owledge]

Maybe - true to the mechanics of the system and its in parts subconscious servants - the police is more afraid of dogs than of humans, because dogs can't be lied to. They're kinda honest-straightforward and very able to defend themselves and others.

 

By the way, talking about the mindset of policemen, may I link this other thread?

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/15113-police-is-r-e-a-l-l-y-afraid-now1/

[Taomeow]

(Totally off topic.)

 

Taomeow, I love dog beach!

Dogs and dog owners' paradise. Dozens of dogs roaming free, so happy, even a cat-oriented person like me can't help smiling every time I drive by.

 

Back to topic.

I don't understand how "millions of dogs/cows/men, women and children get killed" is an excuse for feeling no pain over the death of one whose story you happen to have learned. One wrongful death is as bad as two. Two is as bad as three. Three, as all taoists know, gives birth to ten thousand... birth meaning death in this case.

 

The topic of manipulative media is a totally separate unrelated topic and I'm afraid most people automatically repeating the "manipulative media" mantra like mindless parrots are not aware of the extent, methods, and goals of manipulation... did you know, e.g., that your TV (not mine, I don't have one) emits a frequency imitating the brain waves of a woman nursing her baby?.. Sheesh... That's not what we were talking about. We were talking about, there's a dog, never attacked anyone until he happened to chance upon a man with a gun, and all of a sudden he's dead and the two possible reasons are, 1)the dog became aggressive for the first time in his life just when he happened to come across a man with a gun -- what a neat coincidence! -- or 2)the cop was a trigger-happy criminal and what the f... is wrong with someone paying attention to just one, this one, example of the kind of trigger-happy criminal behavior we all love to support with our tax money?..

 

And then there's those chronic miles long discussions of "living in the present" on "spiritual" forums. Well... the dog under scrutiny is in the present, in this-here thread, right now; millions of other dogs are not. Pay attention?..

[Pero]

We were talking about, there's a dog, never attacked anyone until he happened to chance upon a man with a gun, and all of a sudden he's dead and the two possible reasons are, 1)the dog became aggressive for the first time in his life just when he happened to come across a man with a gun -- what a neat coincidence! -- or 2)the cop was a trigger-happy criminal

 

These are your assumptions, you don't know if any of this is true.

[Encephalon]

Dogs and dog owners' paradise. Dozens of dogs roaming free, so happy, even a cat-oriented person like me can't help smiling every time I drive by.

 

Back to topic.

I don't understand how "millions of dogs/cows/men, women and children get killed" is an excuse for feeling no pain over the death of one whose story you happen to have learned. One wrongful death is as bad as two. Two is as bad as three. Three, as all taoists know, gives birth to ten thousand... birth meaning death in this case.

 

The topic of manipulative media is a totally separate unrelated topic and I'm afraid most people automatically repeating the "manipulative media" mantra like mindless parrots are not aware of the extent, methods, and goals of manipulation... did you know, e.g., that your TV (not mine, I don't have one) emits a frequency imitating the brain waves of a woman nursing her baby?.. Sheesh... That's not what we were talking about. We were talking about, there's a dog, never attacked anyone until he happened to chance upon a man with a gun, and all of a sudden he's dead and the two possible reasons are, 1)the dog became aggressive for the first time in his life just when he happened to come across a man with a gun -- what a neat coincidence! -- or 2)the cop was a trigger-happy criminal and what the f... is wrong with someone paying attention to just one, this one, example of the kind of trigger-happy criminal behavior we all love to support with our tax money?..

 

And then there's those chronic miles long discussions of "living in the present" on "spiritual" forums. Well... the dog under scrutiny is in the present, in this-here thread, right now; millions of other dogs are not. Pay attention?..

 

Bless you. Situational awareness, without and within.