5 ms·

Seriously. It should have been the easiest decision in the world for them - a persons' dog is more important than most other humans to most dog owners, yet the

Seriously. It should have been the easiest decision in the world for them - a persons' dog is more important than most other humans to most dog owners, yet the law treats dogs as nothing more than property. Pay up and grovel to these people. In-action doesn't make these things go away. EDIT: just read the non-disclosure section. I understand the impulse to do that, but it's a MUCH better gamble to just kill the story with boundless kindness.

Judgmentality 8y ago
> a persons' dog is more important than most other humans to most dog owners, yet the law treats dogs as nothing more than property Something I've always found particularly infuriating is how police dogs are considered officers and often carries a worse punishment than attacking an actual police officer. Not because I am upset that the dogs are being protected, but that the police basically can shoot other people's dogs but nobody can touch their dogs. Jesus I am just going off on tangents tonight. I need to take a break for a bit.
- berti 8y ago
  This made me really mad last year: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108562071/police-shoot-family-dog-while-searching-for-wanted-man-in-nelson https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108562071/police-shoot-fami... TL;DR police looking for somebody went to the wrong address, shot the family dog because it "attacked" a police dog (which was "unharmed by the incident"), and casually told the owners on their way out the door that their dog had died.
  - ajmurmann 8y ago
    Well, police training in the US takes on average 19 weeks, whereas in Germany it takes at least 130 weeks (https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_7709638 https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_7709638). It takes 12-14 month to become a cosmetologist...
    - astura 8y ago
      That event took place in New Zealand, not the US.
  - masonic 8y ago
    In the famous Ruby Ridge incident, a Federal sniper shot the Weaver's dog from long distance... because it barked.
- baddox 8y ago
  I’m not aware of any jurisdictions where police dogs are considered officers or where attacking a police dog carries a harsher punishment than attacking a police officer.
- wutbrodo 8y ago
  > often carries a worse punishment than attacking an actual police officer. Do you have any source on this? I'd be very surprised to hear that it was true.
- dsl 8y ago
  Police dogs are not actual officers, as they can not meet the training and oath requirements. I'm not aware of any laws protecting the dogs specifically other than general animal cruelty laws. But because they are very expensive to train (I know of a bomb dog that cost $30k+) you are facing felony property damage charges if you injure or disable them. You should take a break.
  - Judgmentality 8y ago
    So I did some googling and like most things, "it's complicated." It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. As to what I said about killing a police dog having a harsher punishment, that was based on a single anecdote and I meant that the judges serve harsher punishments, not that the laws themselves are stricter. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900010289/senate-approves-tougher-penalty-for-killing-a-k-9-police-dog.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900010289/senate-approve... https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96229&page=1 https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96229&page=1 https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-who-killed-pittsburgh-police-dog-be-sentenced/46088200 https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-who-killed-pittsburgh-po...
    - takeda 8y ago
      > It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. Killing another person can get you life in prison or capital punishment (depending on state) that's way worse than 10 years.
      - unethical_ban 8y ago
        There IS a law for 10 years. There ARE some states that make it like killing a human officer. The MAX for killing a person is death penalty. See where your argument loses some teeth?
dylan604 8y ago
>yet the law treats dogs as nothing more than property. Reminded me of a highway sign I saw shortly after crossing California state line. The sign listed fines for 2 offenses: littering and animal abandonment (however it was worded). Littering was a significantly higher amount to the point that the fine for abandoning an animal would be cheaper than doing anything the right way with the animal. Maybe the tack on the littering fine too, but it was still a very striking distinction to me.

Judgmentality 8y ago

> a persons' dog is more important than most other humans to most dog owners, yet the law treats dogs as nothing more than property Something I've always found particularly infuriating is how police dogs are considered officers and often carries a worse punishment than attacking an actual police officer. Not because I am upset that the dogs are being protected, but that the police basically can shoot other people's dogs but nobody can touch their dogs. Jesus I am just going off on tangents tonight. I need to take a break for a bit.

berti 8y ago
This made me really mad last year: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108562071/police-shoot-family-dog-while-searching-for-wanted-man-in-nelson https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/108562071/police-shoot-fami... TL;DR police looking for somebody went to the wrong address, shot the family dog because it "attacked" a police dog (which was "unharmed by the incident"), and casually told the owners on their way out the door that their dog had died.
- ajmurmann 8y ago
  Well, police training in the US takes on average 19 weeks, whereas in Germany it takes at least 130 weeks (https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_7709638 https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_7709638). It takes 12-14 month to become a cosmetologist...
  - astura 8y ago
    That event took place in New Zealand, not the US.
- masonic 8y ago
  In the famous Ruby Ridge incident, a Federal sniper shot the Weaver's dog from long distance... because it barked.
baddox 8y ago
I’m not aware of any jurisdictions where police dogs are considered officers or where attacking a police dog carries a harsher punishment than attacking a police officer.
wutbrodo 8y ago
> often carries a worse punishment than attacking an actual police officer. Do you have any source on this? I'd be very surprised to hear that it was true.
dsl 8y ago
Police dogs are not actual officers, as they can not meet the training and oath requirements. I'm not aware of any laws protecting the dogs specifically other than general animal cruelty laws. But because they are very expensive to train (I know of a bomb dog that cost $30k+) you are facing felony property damage charges if you injure or disable them. You should take a break.
- Judgmentality 8y ago
  So I did some googling and like most things, "it's complicated." It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. As to what I said about killing a police dog having a harsher punishment, that was based on a single anecdote and I meant that the judges serve harsher punishments, not that the laws themselves are stricter. https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900010289/senate-approves-tougher-penalty-for-killing-a-k-9-police-dog.html https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900010289/senate-approve... https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96229&page=1 https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96229&page=1 https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-who-killed-pittsburgh-police-dog-be-sentenced/46088200 https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/man-who-killed-pittsburgh-po...
  - takeda 8y ago
    > It varies by state, but killing a police dog can put you in jail for 10 years (and this has happened) and that is a federal law. There are some states pursuing stricter measures themselves where killing a canine officer is equivalent to killing a human officer. Killing another person can get you life in prison or capital punishment (depending on state) that's way worse than 10 years.
    - unethical_ban 8y ago
      There IS a law for 10 years. There ARE some states that make it like killing a human officer. The MAX for killing a person is death penalty. See where your argument loses some teeth?

dylan604 8y ago

>yet the law treats dogs as nothing more than property. Reminded me of a highway sign I saw shortly after crossing California state line. The sign listed fines for 2 offenses: littering and animal abandonment (however it was worded). Littering was a significantly higher amount to the point that the fine for abandoning an animal would be cheaper than doing anything the right way with the animal. Maybe the tack on the littering fine too, but it was still a very striking distinction to me.