‘I loved him’: Officer says only option was to shoot canine partner

[The Straight Story]

Hanceville’s K-9 police officer said he had no other option than to shoot his canine companion after the dog attacked him Monday afternoon.

Officer Anthony Childress was in C.W. Day park in Hanceville training Ichi Bon, a Belgian Malinois, when the dog attacked him. Childress was hospitalized and underwent surgery after he shot and killed the canine.

“I do not think he thought he was biting me, I think he was just going through emotions, training and using his instincts, it was a tragic accident,” Childress said. “I loved him. He was my partner and my best friend. I hate that’s what I had to do, but I did have to. It bothers me that there are so many naysayers about the accident, who do not know either of our personalities. I’m the one who lost my best friend and partner.”

A taser was not an option for Childress, as he does not carry one.

“I don’t have a taser. Some officers do have them, but not everyone,” Childress said. “The department doesn’t have the money to purchase those for everyone.”

http://www.cullmantimes.com/local/x1320120371/-I-loved-him-Officer-says-only-option-was-to-shoot-canine-partner

[Brickbat]

1. That article raises a lot of questions for me.

[matt819]

3. Me, too

Not enough info, really, to make a judgment.

If the dog was "not really biting," then what was he doing that warranted being shot?

Also calls into account the trainer's control over the dog that things got to this point.

[Link Speed]

4. 'not really biting' means just that.

Dogs bite either on purpose or instinct. There is a huge difference, especially when a dog bites their handler/owner/family member, etc. I, too, have been bitten by my own dog. My Boxer got into it with a Pit Bull and I (foolishly) tried to separate them. Both of them nailed me. If I had reason to think that either of them had bitten me on purpose, I would have shot either of them on the spot.

I fully understand how a police-trained Malinois could lose it and revert to training due to some trigger that the cop was never aware of. Those dogs can do a lot of damage in a short period of time. That guy must feel like hell.

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. I hear ya and feel the same way.

The guy obviously understood the dog's language very well, enough to know how the behavior could progress from a mistake in perception to going into trained attack mode.
Too bad he did not have a taser, tho.

[Marrah_G]

2. Such a sad story

I feel so badly for that officer and for the dog. They might never know why the dog snapped.

I can't imagine having to shoot my dog in self defense.