This antiquated notion seems to be the standard operating procedure for many of the law enforcement agencies in Florida. The evidence is on the news on what seems like a weekly basis.

Take the unbelievable case of Boomer, the 12-year-old crippled golden retriever. A St. Petersburg police officer shot boomer in October because the officer felt his life was in danger. (Note to cop Misty Swanson -Really? You are so much of a police officer that an arthritic golden retriever can intimidate you? Perhaps you are in the wrong line of work).

The death of Boomer is a tragedy itself, but if you look at the statistics, they are even more alarming. Boomer was the seventh dog killed by this particular police department in the last year.

Currently there is a petition circulating to demand that the St. Petersburg police dept. adopt a policy that encourages non-lethal dog handling techniques in the course of their work, and it appears to be working.

When a police department advocates reaching for a weapon as the first response to restraining an animal, it sends the wrong message to citizens. Those officers are sworn to uphold and protect the public not intimidate it. Police officers need to understand that the animal they feel threatened by could be old, deaf or blind and is only reacting out of fear. The older pet is more at risk due to the inherent medical problems that come with aging. Things such as pain and deafness may cause the animal not to respond to the officers and owners requests. This has to be considered when dealing with a family’s beloved pet.

Many are raising the question that if this police officer reacted in this manner under pressure from an old dog, how would she react to a person. It is a legitimate and very troubling question. The police officer is still on active duty and was never disciplined for the shooting.