A four-year veteran of Animal regulation here in Northern California, my wife was recently dispatched to a loose dog call with her partner, a 15-year senior officer.
Most of the department's officers have been asking for sidearms and better training, as the scope of the job has shifted from protecting livestock to encompassing urban code enforcement. There is an increasing incidence of gangs, cock-fighting, dangerous dogs, drug dealing, etc. These problems are not necessarily unrelated, either.
The pit bull problem is as serious an issue as any when it comes to public safety. In a materialistic youth culture that seems to idolize pimps and gangsters, pit bulls are a huge status item that can be obtained for next to no money. These dogs are being raised to defend illegal operations with deadly force, then they are let loose on our community. The animal shelter is populated by at least 50 percent pit bulls by my estimation.
The AR officers here are issued a duty belt with an ASP, Pepper Spray, and Cuffs. All of this equipment is very important. The problem is that the officers are not really trained to use this equipment, and it is designed to be used against humans, not animals. They are also issued a voucher for purchasing a vest, which is very nice. The officers cary a .12 gauge and a .22 rifle, both of which are used mainly for dispatching sick or injured animals on the roadside. These firearms are locked in the cab of the truck. The only equipment that they carry for subduing and controlling aggressive animals is a catch pole. It really only works well when the animal wants to cooperate.
My wife's partner, the 15-year senior officer, has put himself through the police academy and post certification. He is a certified firearms instructor and chemical agents instructor. His stack of certificates makes me jealous. He has been disciplined in the past for pushing for the officers to be armed with better training and sidearms. He was also recently berated by superiors for drawing his shotgun pre-emptively when dealing with an extremely dangerous pit bull with a history of violence towards humans. The department seems to be putting its image in the media before the safety of the officers. These guys are dealing with the criminal element of society with little to no training and no sidearms.
I often ride along with my wife when she gets after-hours calls. You see, for our huge county, there are two (yes only 2!!) officers on-call after hours. They are to respond to emergencies only during this time. They are encouraged to call for police backup if at any time they feel threatened, but you don't always feel threatened when you are. So, when she's going to a sleazy part of town, I like to ride along because I feel like it is a dangerous situation for her to be responding alone and possibly waiting in a dangerous situation for police backup.
So, back to her story. When they arrived on scene, they had been dispatched to deal with three loose dogs, with a history of complaints. It was a rural neighborhood, and the elementary school bus would be arriving soon. My wife asked her partner about unlocking a shotgun. Her partner felt like they should assess the situation first, as he had been berated for pre-emptively defending himself in the recent past. The equipped their catch poles and started walking down a common driveway to find the dogs.
At about 10 yards from their trucks three pitbull charged from a yard where they had previously battered through a nearly new wooden fence. They had been waiting in silence for my wife and her partner to approach. The smallest pit bull was about 60 pounds. The other two pit bulls were 70 pounds and 90 pounds. Now, I saw these animals later that day and after they had been dispatched. These things were lean killing machines. Very scary animals.
The 90 lb animal leaped at my wife's partner. He held up the catch pole across his face with both arms and pushed the animal back as it came through the air at face level. He tore muscles from bone in his chest defending himself. The other two dogs were working on my wife. As she focussed on the larger 70 lb animal, the small dog circled behind her and clamped down on her calf. My wife saw a similar injury on one of her first calls for the department. A social worker was bitten on the calf by a pit bull. She lost a huge chunk of muscle from her leg, and plastic surgery did not take. Luckily, my wife is a tough woman and she decided to keep her muscle
. The bite was pretty serious, though.
At this point, the larger animal broke from my wife's partner and coordinated with the other dogs in trying to get my wife to the ground and kill her. Yes, these dogs were trying to kill my wife. Her partner drew his ASP and began severeley beating the dogs with it. My wife was still attached to the smaller dog. She remembers making a decision to continue using her catch pole as opposed to drawing her ASP. She felt that the ASP would bring her arm too close to the ground where one of the animals could pull her down, at which point it would be all over. It seemed that both the beatings from the catch pole and her partner's ASP were only aggravating the animals. No one knows why, but at this point the animals ceased attacking and retreated to their yard.
This attack took place in less than 30 seconds. At this point, my wife returned to the vehicles for first aid. Her partner drew a shot gun and called for police assistance. The local PD arrived ten minutes later. My wife's partner shot and killed one of the dogs. The two police officers shot and killed another dog, and injured the third dog. The third animal escaped into the neighborhood again. It was later found and dispatched, luckily before anyone else was hurt.
My wife and her partner could have been killed that day, or seriously wounded. A child from the bus could have been killed. It was a really bad situation. The next day, the jerk who owned the dogs said in a local paper that the Animal Regulation officers must have done something to provoke the dogs. He took no responsibility for his deadly animals running loose and threatening neighbors.
My wife is back on the job now. She is working with her partner on designing a training academy for Animal Regulation and getting the officers sidearms. They are also working with local authorities on some stricter legislation pertaining to dangerous animals, i.e. pit bulls. All in all, it will turn out to be a positive experience for my wife and her partner, as well as for the community. I know it was a bit long-winded, but it is an important story. I was interested in feedback and similar stories.
Most of the department's officers have been asking for sidearms and better training, as the scope of the job has shifted from protecting livestock to encompassing urban code enforcement. There is an increasing incidence of gangs, cock-fighting, dangerous dogs, drug dealing, etc. These problems are not necessarily unrelated, either.
The pit bull problem is as serious an issue as any when it comes to public safety. In a materialistic youth culture that seems to idolize pimps and gangsters, pit bulls are a huge status item that can be obtained for next to no money. These dogs are being raised to defend illegal operations with deadly force, then they are let loose on our community. The animal shelter is populated by at least 50 percent pit bulls by my estimation.
The AR officers here are issued a duty belt with an ASP, Pepper Spray, and Cuffs. All of this equipment is very important. The problem is that the officers are not really trained to use this equipment, and it is designed to be used against humans, not animals. They are also issued a voucher for purchasing a vest, which is very nice. The officers cary a .12 gauge and a .22 rifle, both of which are used mainly for dispatching sick or injured animals on the roadside. These firearms are locked in the cab of the truck. The only equipment that they carry for subduing and controlling aggressive animals is a catch pole. It really only works well when the animal wants to cooperate.
My wife's partner, the 15-year senior officer, has put himself through the police academy and post certification. He is a certified firearms instructor and chemical agents instructor. His stack of certificates makes me jealous. He has been disciplined in the past for pushing for the officers to be armed with better training and sidearms. He was also recently berated by superiors for drawing his shotgun pre-emptively when dealing with an extremely dangerous pit bull with a history of violence towards humans. The department seems to be putting its image in the media before the safety of the officers. These guys are dealing with the criminal element of society with little to no training and no sidearms.
I often ride along with my wife when she gets after-hours calls. You see, for our huge county, there are two (yes only 2!!) officers on-call after hours. They are to respond to emergencies only during this time. They are encouraged to call for police backup if at any time they feel threatened, but you don't always feel threatened when you are. So, when she's going to a sleazy part of town, I like to ride along because I feel like it is a dangerous situation for her to be responding alone and possibly waiting in a dangerous situation for police backup.
So, back to her story. When they arrived on scene, they had been dispatched to deal with three loose dogs, with a history of complaints. It was a rural neighborhood, and the elementary school bus would be arriving soon. My wife asked her partner about unlocking a shotgun. Her partner felt like they should assess the situation first, as he had been berated for pre-emptively defending himself in the recent past. The equipped their catch poles and started walking down a common driveway to find the dogs.
At about 10 yards from their trucks three pitbull charged from a yard where they had previously battered through a nearly new wooden fence. They had been waiting in silence for my wife and her partner to approach. The smallest pit bull was about 60 pounds. The other two pit bulls were 70 pounds and 90 pounds. Now, I saw these animals later that day and after they had been dispatched. These things were lean killing machines. Very scary animals.
The 90 lb animal leaped at my wife's partner. He held up the catch pole across his face with both arms and pushed the animal back as it came through the air at face level. He tore muscles from bone in his chest defending himself. The other two dogs were working on my wife. As she focussed on the larger 70 lb animal, the small dog circled behind her and clamped down on her calf. My wife saw a similar injury on one of her first calls for the department. A social worker was bitten on the calf by a pit bull. She lost a huge chunk of muscle from her leg, and plastic surgery did not take. Luckily, my wife is a tough woman and she decided to keep her muscle
. The bite was pretty serious, though. At this point, the larger animal broke from my wife's partner and coordinated with the other dogs in trying to get my wife to the ground and kill her. Yes, these dogs were trying to kill my wife. Her partner drew his ASP and began severeley beating the dogs with it. My wife was still attached to the smaller dog. She remembers making a decision to continue using her catch pole as opposed to drawing her ASP. She felt that the ASP would bring her arm too close to the ground where one of the animals could pull her down, at which point it would be all over. It seemed that both the beatings from the catch pole and her partner's ASP were only aggravating the animals. No one knows why, but at this point the animals ceased attacking and retreated to their yard.
This attack took place in less than 30 seconds. At this point, my wife returned to the vehicles for first aid. Her partner drew a shot gun and called for police assistance. The local PD arrived ten minutes later. My wife's partner shot and killed one of the dogs. The two police officers shot and killed another dog, and injured the third dog. The third animal escaped into the neighborhood again. It was later found and dispatched, luckily before anyone else was hurt.
My wife and her partner could have been killed that day, or seriously wounded. A child from the bus could have been killed. It was a really bad situation. The next day, the jerk who owned the dogs said in a local paper that the Animal Regulation officers must have done something to provoke the dogs. He took no responsibility for his deadly animals running loose and threatening neighbors.
My wife is back on the job now. She is working with her partner on designing a training academy for Animal Regulation and getting the officers sidearms. They are also working with local authorities on some stricter legislation pertaining to dangerous animals, i.e. pit bulls. All in all, it will turn out to be a positive experience for my wife and her partner, as well as for the community. I know it was a bit long-winded, but it is an important story. I was interested in feedback and similar stories.
