Our Dog shot in dogpark

[Snowdog]

Information because you never know who can help

This happened yesterday. The dog that was shot was in our Husky rescue and was adopted out. I know the foster home he was in and what he had been thru before coming to us. He was a great dog. Here is the article from yesterday Federal police officer shot dog in Arundel park - baltimoresun.com

Just a little info, Huskies do play rough. I had to explain to our neighbors that ours weren't fighting when we first moved in. When you take a dog to a park there is an area between the gates that you are to allow the dogs to sniff each other and remove the leash before entering the park. If you have your dog on a leash it feels restrained and can't play or defend its self properly. It also picks up on your tension and nervousness if that is the case. The Husky was in the park off leash before the cop got there.


Today all 3 local news channels are interviewing the owners, the owner's brother who had the dog at the park and other witnesses. Also USA Today has picked up on the story and is investigating.

Also this was just posted on the local news:
Just minutes ago Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold sent out a news release asking the county police Department to thoroughly investigate the shooting death of Bear-Bear at Quail Run dog park.

Here is County Executive Leopold statement verbatim:

Like many other citizens in our County, I have great concern regarding the shooting incident last night at the Quail Run dog park.

It is concerning whenever a firearm is discharged at a public facility, let alone a facility that close to homes and children playing. All aspects of this incident merit a thorough and complete investigation.

We have wonderful resources for dog owners in Anne Arundel County. I want to ensure our citizens that these facilities are a safe and enjoyable place to let your dog exercise.

[rickaren]

My sympathy goes out to you and yours. What a horrible way to loose your dog in a Community Dog Park! We own a Korean Jindo and it can never go to a dog park because of its behavior. In fact I walk it every night after dark. I can not understand what really happened. Hell it was a dog park! Maybe that Officer was trying to impress his Wife and yes I agree he was the dangerous one, not your dog.

Sorry for your loss and hopefully some resolve will involve that Police Officer being charged.

[rickaren]

Bear-Bear memorial: A recap





Thursday evening people gathered for a memorial at the Quail Run dog park in Severn where Bear-Bear was shot on Monday by an off-duty federal officer. Tiffany Greco, who attended, agreed to summarize events for me and take some pictures. Tiffany fostered Bear-Bear when he was first rescued -- she's with Tails of the Tundra Husky rescue. Some very interesting ideas came out during the evening, including the possibility of renaming the park after Bear-Bear... and that there were young witnesses in the area at the time of the shooting...The recap is in her words, verbatim:

So pretty much the afternoon started off pretty gloomy with some threatening storms and about halfway through we got some thunder and downpour, but everyone stayed through it!

When I got there, there were a few people discussing the incident and their general opinions about it. Mostly being that this man acted recklessly and their general outrage over how the case was handled.

I also found out from the president of the recreational committee for Quail Run, Art, that they would be having a meeting next week to discuss what action Quail Run will be taking in response to this incident. It was also brought up that they will be voting on re-naming the dog run after Bear-Bear.

Joan Harrison from Leopold's executive office was there representing him and chatting individually with people.

By 6:30 there were 3 police officers, about 50 people and lots of huskies!

One of the biggest questions/discussions throughout the event was, what can be done to continue to help.

Around 7pm Rachel, Ryan and Joan said a few brief words. Ryan thanked everyone on the behalf of his family for their support. He mentioned how great the media has been and the good that the facebook pages have done.

Joan also followed with thank yous and mentioned that Leopold has gotten HSUS involved with the investigation and they will make sure there is a complete investigation.

Ryan then took some questions:
1. Are the charges filed - no not to date
2. Why can't we have the shooter's name? - Ryan says too many threats have been made against the man, his family and dog and he will not be responsible for any harm being brought to him.
3. Were there any witnesses? - Yes there were three children, one of whom gave a statement to the police.

Ryan then went on to tell the story of how he came to adopt Bear-Bear.

As for future directions, Ryan and Rachel with being working with Charlotte who is the president of the animal welfare council that was started by executive Leopold. She will not be representing them legally, but she will be providing legal advice to them on how to build and execute their legal plan.

And then finally at the end as everyone was leaving we saw a fantastic rainbow!

LINK: Unleashed: Bear-Bear memorial: A recap - Pets in Baltimore: Dogs, cats, animal shelters and rescues in Maryland by reporter Jill Rosen - baltimoresun.com

[Snowdog]

Thanks Rick, I have been keeping up on things within the rescue and haven't had a good link to the local news there.

[Snowdog]

I just wanted to post the facebook page for Bear-Bear: Justice for Bear-Bear | Facebook

Supposedly there will be some sort of announcement Monday as far as what charges if any will be brought to the shooter. On the info tab there are a bunch of links to reports on this.

[rickaren]

baltimoresun.com
Worm turning in dog-shooting case?

2:46 PM EDT, August 17, 2010


I suspected that the worm would slowly turn to point the finger to Bear-Bear's guardian ("Prosecutors: Inquiry into dog park shooting may take another week," Aug. 17). And the worm just happens to be the off-duty federal officer, who shot a dog in a dog park with his off-duty weapon which was loaded with hollow point bullets. Let's break this down, as I have gotten between two fighting dogs three times in my past and am well aware of how an aggressive dog behaves.

First off, not one of Bear-Bear's caregivers ever noticed any aggression. Why now? If there was any aggression between the dogs, how do we really know it was Bear-Bear, since he had absolutely no history of aggression?

Secondly, the officer's dog was on a leash. Do you mean to tell me that with his training as a police officer, the only thing he could think to do in this situation was shoot the dog? Watch out criminals; don't cross the street if you're not in a crosswalk.

I have no special training and was successful at separating two fighting dogs on three occasions without using brute force.

Thirdly, of course, Bear-Bear's guardian was slow answering the responding Anne Arundel County officer's questions. He just witnessed a shooting. I have no idea how I would have reacted.

Based on what the media is reporting, it appears that the officer was wrong on so many levels to shoot that dog when there were so many other options available. It appears to me and many, many others following this story that this officer had not yet gotten over his Wyatt Earp complex and thought he was above the law. I wonder what the outcome would be if the shoe were on the other foot,

Kathryn Tebby, Brooklyn Park

[Snowdog]

UPDATE!!!

Officer charged in shooting of Bear-Bear • Public Record (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

Very appropriate I feel, I am glad the people involved took their time to evaluate the situation and make what they felt was the proper decision.

[rickaren]

Fantastic!!