Denver Cop Shoots Dog During Search
http://newscenter.ninn.org/
November 25, 2004, DENVER--A trail of blood led straight from the backyard doghouse to the front steps of Larry Griego's northeast Denver home, where animal control officers had dragged Griego's dog. Bobo, a 9-year-old Dalmatian, was shot and killed by Denver police Wednesday after he bit an officer on the wrist. Police at the time were searching for the weapon of a suspect who fired shots in the area.
Bobo was chained in the backyard of the home in the 2900 block of Fillmore Street when he was shot, Griego said."I picked him up and started crying," Griego said, rubbing his red eyes. "He had five bullet holes in him."
Police spokesman John White said shooting dogs is uncommon. The dog bit the officer on his wristwatch, likely saving the officer from serious injury, he said. The officer fired once, striking the dog, White said, "but it returned and attacked a second time. That's when the dog was put down."
White said the original shooting suspect was later arrested, but he did not know the man's identity. Griego also was ordered in to speak with investigators.
Griego said police arrived and called his home before 6 a.m. and ordered him to come outside. Outside, an officer grabbed him and put him in the back of a police car, he said. He had two large bruises on his neck Wednesday morning. "I cooperated," said Griego, who consented to a police search of the home. "We don't even own a gun."
Then Griego heard shooting. "I heard five gunshots ... boom, boom, boom, boom, boom," Griego said. "He wasn't no pit bull. Why shoot a Dalmatian?"
A study in the Journal of Pediatric Health Care called black- and-white-spotted Dalmatians "family dogs" - in a category with boxers, golden retrievers and Irish setters - and less likely to bite than pit bulls, rottweilers and cocker spaniels. But many insurance carriers consider the breed dangerous.
Griego said Bobo would bark at strangers to defend the home, where he lives with his father, Larry Griego Sr., and his 11-year-old sister, who wasn't home during the shooting. The family said it hasn't decided whether to get another dog. "I don't know. No one wants one right now," Griego Sr. said. "We're too sad."
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Letter to the Editor
www.denverpost.com
I am grieving for Bobo the dalmation, who was shot and killed by Denver police. His death, however, is only one part of why I feel so sad. Here is another family who thinks it is OK to leave the family dog chained in the backyard.
I am absolutely sickened every time I see a dog forced to live a solitary life on a chain, used mostly as a deterrent for thieves. Bobo deserved a warm place to sleep inside the family's house. Had he been allowed this small privilege, he would still be alive.
The Griego family says they haven't decided if they will get another dog. Please, don't.
Peggy Wolber, Denver
