http://justiceforbearbear.wordpress.com/

Charges are pending against an off duty federal security guard who took his dog to a dog park and then shot, using hollow point bullets, a siberian husky he claimed had attacked his dog. Originally, no charges were brought but public outcry led to the matter being investigated, further.

Sad. I want that man arrested and tossed in with the dogs (humans) at the worst prison in the world...not in this country, but somewhere else on this planet. For life! And when he is so old nearing death, have a pack of wild dogs to finish him off.

Give me a break. I read through every document before replying and while tragic for the owner's of the husky, I have no real problem with the outcome of the situation that led to the husky's death other than it's another example of how those that choose to arm themselves with a lethal weapon will usually choose a lethal means of dealing with a less than lethal situation.

Being that no third party witnesses are available, the defendant had a right to carry a gun and has no priors and there is zero evidence of premeditation this case appears to be all for show.

We've taken our dogs to dog parks in the past and now refuse to do so. The park in MWC is often occupied by people with aggressive dogs and the dog owners often ignore their dominating behavior. Our smaller dog was attacked by another dog and the dog's owner just froze. My wife screamed when our dog cried out and if I'd had my gun on me I'd probably had killed the other dog too (which is one reason I don't carry a gun and instead carry a LE grade taser). Our dog was sore to the touch for weeks and the other dogs owner just tried to laugh it off.

While I certainly would have hoped their would have been other ways to deal with the situation in question, I doubt there can be a prosecution put on that will secure a conviction and rightly so.

I'm following a case now in our state of a man whose very expensive hunting greyhound got out of his yard and killed a neighbors cat. The cat's owner killed the greyhound with a gun. He then took the dead greyhound over to his neighbors and dumped it in his driveway. The neighbor approached the man and then promptly beat the crap out of the shooter. He is now charged with assault and battery. In my opinion, the shooter was probably within his right to shoot the greyhound but basically was asking to get his ass kicked when he flaunted the dead dog in front of it's owner.

This guy said the dog attacked his German Shepherd and that is why he killed him - in a dog park, no less. The GS didn't have a mark on her and the husky was known as a gentle animal. Leaving a dog on leash at an unleashed dogpark is just ignorant and the guy clearly doesn't have a clue how that impacts the dynamics of dog interation. This was a neutered male play fighting with a female. If a dog is on leash, it might have been scared - duh. Canine behavior 101. The chances of him actually trying to harm her are next to zero. If he wanted to hurt the dog to the point where he needed to be shot with a hollow point, his dog should have been in shreds. She wasn't injured, at all. If the man wanted to act like a yahoo, stay out of the dog park - that's a place where there is responsibility to understand canine interaction. Treating dogs like they are wild animals and/or livestock is not what a dog park is all about. This guy was clueless and overreacted, with tragic results.

I don't know about the dog park you are talking about so can't comment on the behavior of the ones there. However, I am from the area where this event took place and dog park manners are well understood in that area. Taking a leashed dog to a dog park is ridiculous - it invites problems. Keep her on the sidewalk and away from the other dogs and out of the park if they are going to do that, for heaven's sake.

I love Oklahoma but it is a completely different culture when it comes to dogs as compared to Virginia. I have two purebred Samoyeds and can't imagine not having them spayed. So many people assume that if I paid money for them and they have papers, I am crazy to not be breeding them. Just a whole different mindset. I am used to it, having come from Oklahoma, but it comes as no surprise to me that people have taken to the streets in Virginia over this idiot shooting a dog in a dog park when she is large, leashed and didn't have a mark on her. If he is going to act like that, he needs to retire to Wyoming and shoot coyotes.

That's all well and good, but you weren't there, have no idea what actually happened and are obviously biased - all of which is fine, but a reality check is in order. In absence of 3rd party witnesses and any actual evidence of a crime you don't really know if the husky posed a threat of not. You also have no idea if the defendant had cause to perceive the husky as a real threat (which is in my opinion what this case will come down to). Should the dog have been off-leash in the park? Probably. Were there signs stating dogs are to be off-leash? None have been reported (which would have been journalism 101). Regardless, was leaving the dog on-leash illegal? Most likely not. So, you have a dog owner who was following the law (possibly exercising bad judgement) and perceived a threat to himself and others by another dog and he took the only measures he felt he had at his disposal to nullify the threat AFTER instructing the husky's owner to get his dog. Personally, I think its irresponsible to have a dog park without video surveillance - if for no other reason than to reduce insurance claim liability.

Its ridiculous to base guilt on the fact the German Shepherd didn't have a mark on it and that the Shepherd's owner kept his dog on a leash.

I fully expect the dead dog's owners to react irrational in their desire to 'see justice' but I'm confident a jury will not be so blindly emotional. Though, I also won't be surprised to see the defendant take a plea to some deferred sentence to avoid the cost and stress of a trial. So - in the end nothing will happen except for lots of money being spent.

Penny - 1
Brian - 0

Penny, what the percentage to see justice be done?

Penny - 1
Brian - 0

Penny, what the percentage to see justice be done?

Thunder, not much will happen to this guy in the courts. It is a minor charge and frankly, I am not even sure it will stick. That doesn't mean he didn't do it and wasn't wrong to do it - it just means that they may not find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt which is needed to impose a criminal sanction. Putting this guy in jail won't bring back this dog and it won't make these people stop grieving.

Maybe this will cause some people to think about the changing role of dogs in our lives. For some, dogs are just dogs. They are not much more than livestock, if that. I get it. They were raised that way. For others, dogs are full blown family members and those people grieve the way they would the loss of any family member. If you don't "get" that, you don't get that.

A common way for abusers to emotionally torture their significant other or their children is to harm a pet, usually in front of them. Laws are changing to recognize the emotional harm that imposes and I am glad of it. Not so long ago, the most you could get if someone killed your dog was the value of the dog - and with a mutt, that isn't much - clearly there was not much deterent effect under the law. And even a purebred's value doesn't come close to making up for the loss of companionship and affection. Someone could "humanely" put a healthy, beloved young to sleep out of meaness or to emotionally hurt someone and there wasn't all that much you could do about it. Not really.

This guy clearly had a value system that would allow him to gun down a dog with not that much provocation. It would have been one thing if his own dog was genuinely being hurt or he was being hurt. NO ONE got hurt. The guy clearly misread the situation and didn't have the value system in place that would cause him to avoid lethal force unless he absolutely had no choice. It is a common attitude, unfortunately.

Study after study consistently show that dogs are good for our health - from reducing the number of allergies if exposed to them as children, to driving down our blood pressure and helping with the symptoms of depression. In an age where parenthood is often delayed, people live longer and families are less likely than earlier times to lives close, dogs provide an important function of allowing people to care for another creature. It has a civilizing affect on people.

But back to this jackass - no offence to the owners of German Shepherds, but it doesn't surprise me that this part time federal security guard would get himself what amounts to a guard dog. I'm just surprised it wasn't an intact male. If I had my way, he would be run out of town on a rail. Dogs are holy, IMO. I would rather see him shunned than sent to jail. He should be absolutely ashamed of himself but I doubt he is.

What you just said about the value system of this guy is pretty much similar to the Pharmacist shooting last year. That Pharmacist is in hot water, so should this stupid dog murderer. Maybe a prison sentence is too much... But I still would like to see him spend days in jail, thousands of hours of community services, pay all fines (maybe the city have a 'unlawful discharge of a weapon' violation rule), pay full court costs for both sides, and pay for complete burial of the innocent Husky along with award money to the family. That is the punishment I deem fit for the situation.

What you just said about the value system of this guy is pretty much similar to the Pharmacist shooting last year. That Pharmacist is in hot water, so should this stupid dog murderer. Maybe a prison sentence is too much... But I still would like to see him spend days in jail, thousands of hours of community services, pay all fines (maybe the city have a 'unlawful discharge of a weapon' violation rule), pay full court costs for both sides, and pay for complete burial of the innocent Husky along with award money to the family. That is the punishment I deem fit for the situation.

People > animals. That's the way it is, that's the way it should be.

If nothing else, this case might help to educate the public about dog park etiquette. It is not uncommon or unexpected for unfamiliar dogs to be rough with yours--I've hard it referred to as "giving him the business." It's just how they socialize.

Now, the officer was an idiot for having his dog on-leash in the park. That is absolutely dumb and will get your dog attacked. Beyond that, the facts are unclear. But creating a "justice for Bear Bear" website? Get a life.

People > animals. That's the way it is, that's the way it should be.

If nothing else, this case might help to educate the public about dog park etiquette. It is not uncommon or unexpected for unfamiliar dogs to be rough with yours--I've hard it referred to as "giving him the business." It's just how they socialize.

Now, the officer was an idiot for having his dog on-leash in the park. That is absolutely dumb and will get your dog attacked. Beyond that, the facts are unclear. But creating a "justice for Bear Bear" website? Get a life.

Bear-Bear was a rescue dog and the Husky folks are pretty upset about it. Good for them for setting up the website. It may not be your cup of tea or a value you share, but if you were involved with dog rescue or if humane treatment of animals was one of your passions, you might feel differently.

It doesn't matter if people > dogs - I don't think that is the question and no one has suggested that. The point is what value is placed on a dog, standing alone. It doesn't have to be a person to deserve better than this.

Bear-Bear was a rescue dog and the Husky folks are pretty upset about it. Good for them for setting up the website. It may not be your cup of tea or a value you share, but if you were involved with dog rescue or if humane treatment of animals was one of your passions, you might feel differently.

You presume an awful lot. I am general counsel (pro bono) for a local no-kill shelter. And I have taken pet owners to court for not complying with their adoption contract. My view is that while my human clients do pay the bills, that by and large, they are responsible, at least in part for being in court (in most cases). With animals, they are blameless. Also, it gives me the chance to make life difficult for some real scummy people, so that's always enjoyable.

You presume an awful lot. I am general counsel (pro bono) for a local no-kill shelter. And I have taken pet owners to court for not complying with their adoption contract. My view is that while my human clients do pay the bills, that by and large, they are responsible, at least in part for being in court (in most cases). With animals, they are blameless. Also, it gives me the chance to make life difficult for some real scummy people, so that's always enjoyable.

I don't think it is presuming an "awful lot" to say you "might" feel differently.

Penny, I share your feelings on this. We're supposed to be caretakers of animals and what this man did was ruthless and unfeeling. I hope justice is served and if it isn't done on earth, it will be done later.

As far as the people greater then animals~let's just say pets are more comforting and loving then many people in the world.