Police Kill 12-Year-Old Golden Retriever Named Boomer

Image | Animal Connection Blogspot

Educate St. Petersburg’s Police Officers in Animal Techniques


Background | From Change

When a police officer’s first line of defense in restraining an animal is to reach for a weapon, it is sending the wrong message to the community that they swore to uphold and protect. If the police officer is the first responder involving an animal, then the police officers should be trained in animal control techniques. The “uncooperative animal” that the police officer may kill could be someone’s senior pet who could be afraid, deaf, or in pain and not able to respond to the officer’s request.

Boomer, the dog shown in the photo has a Facebook page called Boomer’s Voice, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boomers-Voice/160030397422056 where you can find out more information (and view photos of Boomer’s life as the family pet).  Here is another article about this tragic story: http://animalconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/police-kill-12-year-old-golden.html


Petition Letter

Police officers, attend a comprehensive animal handling training session.

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: The Mayor of Saint Petersburg, Florida.

The police officers of St. Petersburg must be trained in animal handling techniques as evidenced by the fatal shooting of a 13-year old Golden Retriever, named Boomer, by police officer Misty Swanson.

According to this article, http://oldnortheast.patch.com/articles/police-kill-12-year-old-pet-golden-retriever Boomer did not die quickly and was in much pain, while his guardians had no clue what had happened to their dog, who had been killed just a block away from where they lived.

When a police officer’s first line of defense in restraining an animal is to reach for a weapon, it is sending the wrong message to the community that they swore to uphold and protect. If the police officer is the first responder involving an animal, then the police officers should be trained in animal control techniques. The “uncooperative animal” that the police officer may kill could be someone’s senior pet who could be afraid, deaf, or in pain and not able to respond to the officer’s request.

Sweet, old man Boomer will not be returning to the Glass family to live out his last few years. Let’s make sure this does not happen again to a poor innocent pet: educating your police department in non-violent techniques for dogs at large would be a first step.


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trigger happy causes unhappy to the victims and those who love them:(
learn to react not from fear,
but from fact
do not shoot to kill
for many
too bitter a pill

Karen Lyons Kalmenson