Before any of you start voicing opinions that make the world wonder if you
are truly in control of your faculties, please consider this situation from
the officers' perspective.  What if this really WAS a felony?  What if the
dog really WAS vicious and attempted to attack?  What if that attack
resulted in the officers being distracted to the point where the alleged
felons were able to pose serious bodily harm or death to the officers?  Now,
what if one of those officers who was injured/killed was one of your family?
You have to understand that they were responding to a potential felony stop.
How would you suggest they handle the situation based on the information
they were presented?  The death of this dog, horrible as it is, could have
been prevented had the owners confined them some way inside the car
(seatbelt harnesses, crates) or if the officer(s) or family had closed the
door as supposedly requested by the family.  I believe that the family is
entitled to some form of reimbursement, but PLEASE realize that we don't
know all the details.  If I was unable to understand all of the verbal
content of the video, it is reasonable to believe that others had difficulty
as well.  And if I felt that the video quality was sufficiently poor as to
make breed identification impossible, as well as the posture of this dog
after exiting the car, then others probably would have to admit that they
really couldn't tell either.  While it is extremely unfortunate that this
has happened, please don't join the list of people whose perceptions have
been formed merely by their love of animals and not by the facts.  jav
"Erin LaPorte" <natosoldier@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:ABAT9.2918$Dq.291725@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
> For those of use that love animals that watched in horror as a beloved
> family dog of a family on vacation was gunned down by police in
Tennessee -
> we want to take action!!!
>
> We can!!!
>
> Here are the web addresses and e-mails that you can use to POUND
> Cookeville's police and media with!
>
> Let them know that this type of police action is unacceptable in a free
> country. Our highways are not shooting zones for police !
>
> This cop is on administrative leave - HE SHOULD BE FIRED and barred from
> ever carrying a gun AGAIN!!! This Cookeville cop is a threat to the
public -
> as well as for four-legged family members!
>
> POUND 'EM!!!
>
> Here are the web addresses and e-mails that you can use to POUND
> Cookeville's police and media with!
>
> Cookeville Homepage http://www.cookeville.com/
>
> Cookeville Police Department http://www.usacops.com/tn/p38503/
> and http://www.cookevillepolice.com/
>
> NOTE - that both of these pages are down. So wait until they come back up.
> The shame must be getting to them!!! Wait and them pound them - or call
> and/or write letters! Let them know that you appreaciate that they protect
> the community from overly-friendly family dogs by shooting them in the
head.
> . .
>
> Cookeville Police Department
> Chief of Police
> Robert E Terry
> 10 E Broad St
> Cookeville, Tennessee 38503
> (931)526-2125
>
> Putnam County Sheriff's Office
> Sheriff
> Jerry Abston
> 421 E Spring St
> Cookeville, Tennessee 38501
> (615)528-8484
>
> NOTE that the forum of the Cookeville Homepage
> http://www.cookeville.com/forums  is not allowing for more accounts "due
to
> national controversity."
>
> City of Cookeville homepage www.ci.cookeville.tn.us/
> Could the shame be too much for them and Cookeville Police?!
>
>
> You can watch this tragedy and act of police brutality on "Patton" - the
> four legged member of the Smoaka family
> http://www.tennessean.com/video/dogshooting0103/doglg.rm
>
> POUND 'EM!!!
>
>
>