Dog survives gunshot to face death

Galesburg Police seek to declare Thor vicious

Saturday, April 7, 2007

By AMELIA FLOOD

The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - The Galesburg Police Department has begun proceedings to have a dog that survived a gunshot to the head last week declared vicious under the city's ordinances.

While the family of the dog's owner has raised questions about the shooting, Galesburg Police Capt. Lindsey May said the dog's actions and not officer Bryan Anderson's are the issue.

"We have a review process for (the use of force) and we found that there was no problem with the shooting," May said. A letter has been sent to Prairieland Animal Welfare Center from the police department and the city attorney will work in conjunction with the center on the case.

Under the city's ordinance, there are two ways in which this kind of case proceed. An animal may be ruled to be "dangerous," wherein an owner must register the dog, take on $100,000 of insurance and it must be permanently identified with a microchip. If an animal is ruled dangerous twice, it can then be ruled to be "vicious" and would then be euthanized. In certain cases, the police department may request the animal be ruled vicious to begin with.

Officer Anderson arrived at 711 Willard St. Sunday morning after Harold Winship, a neighbor, called in a complaint regarding Thor, an 8-year-old German shepherd belonging to Bernardina Rubio.

Winship had been walking to church when the dog ran at him.

"All of a sudden, something bolted off their front porch. In a split second, I could see he had a leash on," Winship said. "In another second, I saw it wasn't attached to anything." The dog was barking and baring his teeth, Winship said.

When Anderson arrived, Thor had returned to his yard. The officer began walking up the driveway when the dog charged. Anderson backed up and drew his weapon as the dog kept coming at him.

In the end, Anderson fired one shot. It struck the dog in the head, between the right ear and eye. The animal was taken to his veterinarian after animal control and Rubio arrived.

According to the police report and Winship, the dog has a history of biting and/or charging people and other animals when loose.

"He doesn't run loose very frequently," Winship said, "but when he does there have been ill effects."

According to May, the first incident involving Thor occurred in January 2003 when the dog chased a mail carrier. The same thing happened in December 2005, May said, and letters were sent to Rubio after both incidents. According to the police report, on Oct. 23, 2004, Thor escaped while Rubio was taking out garbage and attacked a neighbor's golden retriever in the other dog's yard, resulting in an injury to the other animal. That same year, Thor chased a neighbor's daughter and bit her on the hip.

Rubio and her brother, Steve Alvarado, dispute the claims regarding Thor's past.

"It's not that he's running rampant on the streets," Rubio said. "He doesn't get aggressive."

Rubio acknowledged that Thor had "nipped" her neighbor's daughter but said Thor had not bitten the golden retriever in 2004. Alvarado said Thor has not been a problem and is not vicious.

"You just got to show no fear with dogs and you'll be OK," Alvarado said. According to Alvarado, Thor is protective and was only defending his territory when Anderson approached.

When questioned at the scene, Alvarado's brother, Guadalupe Alvarado, who was home at the time of the incident, said Thor "was only nice to family."

Rubio and Steve Alvarado also question why the officer fired on the dog. They contend that the officer should have used either pepper spray or a Tazer. According to Winship who witnessed the incident, Anderson's actions were justified.

"I don't think there was anything he could've done if he didn't want to come away with a bunch of teeth marks," Winship said. According to May, Tazers have been ineffective in his experience because they are not designed for use on animals and only make the animal angrier. Pepper spray and even tranquilizers, May said, don't always take effect in the time necessary to prevent injury to the officer.

While the dog survived the incident and has been returned home, the next step, May said, is for the family to receive a certified letter declaring the city's intent to declare the dog vicious. Rubio already has been cited for a dog at large.

A hearing will determine if the dog should be declared vicious, and if so, it will be put down.

Alvarado expressed the family's frustration with the matter, arguing that steps short of euthanization should be taken.

"I kind of knew it would come to them wanting to put him down," Alvarado said. "It's frustrating and it's sad. And to save a life and then put it down? That dog's blessed or he's a bad shot. That's cruel to animals."