Dog Owner Seeks Advice On Next Steps After Emotional Support Dog Is Shot By Police, Neighbor's Dog Was Attacker
A 28-year-old woman lost her emotional support dog after police shot it during an attack by the neighbor’s dog, and the fallout is turning into a neighborhood and legal mess nobody asked for. Now OP is stuck dealing with mental health care that depends on that dog, plus the anger of watching police treat the moment like a clean-cut threat instead of a split-second response to a specific attack.
This is the kind of story where people keep asking, who was actually responsible for what happened.
It's time for the original poster (OP) to consider suing both the neighbor and police.
Sue them. Your town has leash laws, and your neighbor's dog has to stay on their property.
As far as the cop, include them in the suit. They should have killed the aggressor, not the one being attacked.
It's best to consult a lawyer before initiating any legal proceedings.
Contact an attorney. You may be able to sue for damages from both the dog's owner and the police department.
Ask him if he feels that it was criminal neglect on the part of the other dog's owner, since he had a vicious dog loose. Perhaps he will have you speak with an officer for a more thorough investigation before bringing any civil lawsuit.
I may be completely wrong in this, but it never hurts to seek the attorney's advice. Good luck.
One user believes the OP should take action immediately.
File a lawsuit against the neighbor and the police, and don’t wait!
Since dogs are considered private property, the neighbor and police have legal liabilities.
Lawyer up.
Your neighbor and the police have a lot of questions to answer.
This user would've done something worse than suing.
Are you kidding me? If this happened to me and my dog, it would be top news.
Sue the police and never let them forget what they did. That is the least you should do.
What I would do, I can’t write here.
Emotional support animals are part of mental health care, something that the OP has just lost. They need to be reimbursed.
What part of “lawsuit” can you not spell?
An emotional support dog is a pricey item, and one that’s difficult to replace. The irresponsible neighbors allowed their dog to go over their fence and attack your highly trained assistance dog.
They need to pay for another such dog and also reimburse you for the expense and inconvenience you’re suffering as a result of their animal’s attack.
It also echoes the man who reported his neighbor’s dog for killing his chickens, only to see the case dismissed.
The OP needs to quickly study the law so they'll know their legal rights.
First things first. I am so sorry for the loss of your emotional support dog.
Since the neighbor's dog jumped the fence into your yard, the neighbor should be liable for what happened to your dog in your yard.
Animal control laws may vary in your area. Research the law.
Was your dog shot by the police officer because the officer saw your dog as aggressive, or was your dog shot to put it out of the pain it was in as an act of compassion by the police officer? I really could use more information about the entire circumstance.
Some lawyers are willing to talk with potential clients for free. It would be wise to get a free consultation and figure out your next step.
Back in the early 70s, I had a neighbor’s dog (Husky) that jumped the fence and went after my youngest son (age 2 1/2 years). My mini dachshund got between my son and the Husky and saved my son’s life.
My dachshund did not survive the encounter. Law enforcement was called, and the incident was investigated.
The neighbor and his Husky were found liable for the death of my dog. After the investigation was complete, it was discovered that the neighbor’s dog had attacked other small boys and a few men.
The neighbor’s dog was “put down” by the authorities as a dangerous animal.
Again, I am so sorry for your loss.
The police are legally responsible for shooting the support dog.
I am no lawyer, but if all the facts are true and there was no reason to shoot your support dog, and you can prove this, then get a lawyer and sue who is responsible for this uncalled-for action.
One user doubts the story and concludes their post with what might be considered a narrow-minded statement.
What a response time your city police or county sheriff’s department must have. I was a cop for 30 years, and there was so much for us to do that responding to a dog fight would surely be pretty close to the bottom of our priorities list.
So your dog is outside, and the neighbor's dog goes over a fence to get to your dog and starts laying into him. The dog is mauling, fighting, and biting, and I would imagine your emotional support dog is fighting back, and the fur is flying. So your reaction is to call 911 because your dog is getting chewed up by the neighbor's dog, and surely preventing that sort of thing is on the list of cop activities.
It’s not. It’s really not.
As these dogs are fighting and your dog is becoming the aggressor, as he must be if he was the one chosen to be shot, you didn’t think to maybe pull your dog off the other dog? AND the now losing dog did not retreat back into his own yard? Odd, attack another dog in the other dog’s yard and stay and fight even though you are losing.
Interesting. That so goes against animal behavior.
But anyway, your dog is winning the fight, and it never occurs to you to go grab his collar, pull him off the other dog, and remove him from the fight? Hmm, okay.
So the fight goes on, making these some pretty determined fighting dogs…and it goes on and on…a 15-minute response time for this sort of thing would be pretty fast considering the low, low, low priority of this call. But I guess there was absolutely nothing going on in town at this time, and the district car decided to take the call. He pulls up and sees what? A Golden Retriever and a mutt or a Lab and a poodle…what kind of dogs are we talking about here?
Neither is a pit bull or a Rottweiler because the fight would have been over long before a cop could show up. That means they are regular dogs, and as the cop arrives, that means your dog is winning if he is the one that gets shot, and that means there is NO conversation between you two?
He drives up, gets out, sees a fight, and shoots the winning dog?
Nope.
This didn’t happen, so I’m making this part up, but if a cop were to arrive at a 15-minute-old dog fight, the dogs would have been exhausted long ago. But let’s just say for the sake of story time that the two UFC dogs are still going at it. He would, I would, any cop would ask which dog is yours when he sees that one has the upper hand…so to speak.
The upper paw. Shooting a dog that is in a fight with another dog when one of the owners is standing there is pretty close to maximum nonsense, and if by some twist of stupidity it did happen, that cop needs to be fired and the department sued. But it didn’t happen, so that is not an issue.
The cop would say, because you are too stupid to have done so, grab your dog.
Wow, fight over. Could have done that long ago.
You don’t need an emotional support dog (why doesn’t the support part deserve to be capitalized?) you need better stories.
One user believes it's no use pushing for a legal battle, especially since the OP is already experiencing mental health issues.
So very sorry for the loss of your family member!
Why was he shot by police? You can’t bring him back! We would all love to take action against such atrocities. You might or might not win, and it would cost you lots of money in legal fees.
What was done about the neighbor's dog?
Move on, as you will only suffer more pain.
That’s when the comments start pointing at the neighbor’s leash law problem, since the attacker dog allegedly wasn’t supposed to be roaming in the first place.
Then the conversation turns to the police shooting, with commenters arguing the response should have targeted the aggressor, not the one being attacked.
Emotional support dog replacement costs come up fast, because OP didn’t just lose a pet, they lost a trained, hard-to-replace part of daily life.
Finally, the thread gets loud about “don’t wait” lawsuits, naming both the neighbor and the police department while everyone waits to see what OP can prove.
All of the best advice has been given. Although it makes sense to take matters to court, the OP might not be able to handle the things involved, given their mental health condition.
Pursuing a settlement might be a more feasible option for them. The emotional benefits that the dog has brought cannot be replaced, but exploring various solutions is necessary for the OP's well-being and peace of mind.
Nobody wants to lose their emotional support dog and still be told it was handled “correctly.”
For another fight over a missing support dog, read about the owner whose shelter dog was adopted despite her efforts.
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