Woman Bitten By City Police Dog!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

This article was on the Cincinnati Enquirer website this morning.  I thought these dogs were trained to the top of their game!  Interesting!

 

 

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110802/NEWS01/110802049/Woman-...|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Where we train, they do wear big blue coveralls with a lot of padding. There seems to be some flaws in this story: what police handler ever leaves his canine off leash with his eyes off the dog? Where / when was the command given to attack? Why did he GO OVER to GET the dog off her arm? That is also a verbal command, not a physical move.
I'm wondering if the worker smoked or snorted a little before work. Still, no excuse. Some things are missing from this reporter's story.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

My thoughts exactly. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

The reason that I even read this story to start with was because our little Village (and I say little because it really is) is putting a levy on the ballot in November to increase the police departments budget for a police dog.  I have some very strong feelings against this ..... a large percent of them because I'm just tired of everyone's hands in my pockets lately but that's another discussion.  Another local village recently got a dog and it just encountered a $1500 vet bill because it swallowed one of its toys.  Now this police dog has bitten someone ..... I'm sure there will be a lawsuit there ..... I'm hard pressed to believe that anyone on our police force has even a minute amount of dog training to begin with so we are going to have some local kid running around with a police dog ..... well you get the picture.  I mean Cincinnati is a very large police force and they encounter this problem, I can only imagine what it would be like here.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This story makes me very sad. This is not typical behavior on the part of a K-9, and this story is going to enhance the mistaken belief that these dogs are vicious, when nothing could be further from the truth.

It sounds to me like this dog misread the situation and was also not really at a high enough level of training for police work, or his partner was experienced enough. I would be interested in learning the dog's age, length of time on the job, etc.

I am never as comfortable around any strange dog as I am with a K-9. I fostered two of them. I guess I have only met the ones who are trained and handled the way they are supposed to be.

 

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

I understand your concerns living in a small community myself.  The same issue in our town came up a couple years ago.  One of the problems was neither one of our police officers had any handling experience.  So not only additional funds were needed for the dog, but to fund training of the officer.  I'm not against having a police dog in the community, just having to pay for it. 

IMO the new article of this incident has alot of unknowns. 

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree.  I'll keep an eye out to see if there are any future stories.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

After re-reading my comment what I meant to say was.  I don't mind paying for training and expenses of the dog.  Just not the officer, but that is probably because he is a drunken A$$ .  One of the other benefits of small town living I discovered.  Sometimes I really do miss living in the city, lol.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I think this situation is rare. I have no idea how often this happens, still with the amount of training, hours, years, both the dog and handler must have, I think...... Well, this is a timely story with a political agenda.
In the long run, a police dog may reduce costs to your community. Long hours searching for suspects, contraband, bombs, victims in disasters and hazardous situations are cut to minutes. The safety of the entire department is enhanced if a dog is sent into areas of dangerous situations.
A kid, most likely will not be a handler. A certified handler has as many years and training as the dog! More in some cases! Another point , the use of deadly force is greatly reduced using a canine
My hopes are that TSA agents would get their hands out of my parts and use a dogs snout instead. Much more cost effective, much more reliable. I trust a dog more than I trust most humans

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

How about this? No long - term, state funded retirement either. That alone will cover all the costs! Might be worth 3 dogs.
I understand your points. I'm a tax payer and property owner myself. I though, see your levy as a positive issue.

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

I agree dogs are much more trustworthy than most people.  Some TSA agents really creep me out.

[Cindy M, Zachary & the Frenchies]

I would much rather be sniffed by a dog than body scanned or touched by a TSA agent!!!!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Like a college education, many law enforcement persons go out on their own to train, making themselves more marketable in the employment crisis. Can you suggest to your city to seek out someone who already has this experience ? This may be a better option as around?