[CommerceComet]

Before everyone gets too carried away here, remember we are only hearing one side of the story. As a wise man once said, "The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him." (Proverbs 18:17)

The fact that three shots were fired suggests that the dog wasn't cowering in the corner. If the dog were acting aggressively, I'm certain that we wouldn't hear that from the owner who is trying hard for sympathy.

I'm not necessarily siding with the police officers but I am withholding judgment until I hear both sides.

[Trinity_Tx]

It would be easier to withhold judgement if this weren't happening so often in cases where, even after both sides are heard, or videos of event reviewed, the police were indeed shown to have been trigger-happy and unjustified in their killing of the pet.

I see nothing about the three shots fired that suggests it was justified. No one claims the dog was "cowering in a corner", and firing a gun is unlikely to calm a dog.

I understand your point, and it is wise, as this could be one of the off-times when there was something else going on. But as I and others have said, one would expect the officers to educate themselves more on the subject. It's just happening too often.

[Don Joe]

The fact that three shots were fired suggests that the dog wasn't cowering in the corner.

How so?

What it suggests to me is that the trespasser was operating under the "fire and keep firing until he drops" school of thought that's pounded into their heads under the modern paramilitary training regimes.

Three shots can be rapid-fired in well under a second. The modern paramilitary operative does not carefully squeeze off one round and then wait to see how the target reacts. He fires, and keeps firing, "until the threat is neutralized."

If anything is surprising, it's that only three shots were fired. What I suspect is that by the second round, the shooter had that "oh, sh!t" moment -- realizing what was really going on -- but wasn't able to stop his reflexive firing until one more round had been fired.