[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A Missouri cop is in the dog house after taking lethal action against a sweet little lap dog.
Last weekend, Sturgeon resident Nick Hunter was out and about in Columbia when he got a call from a friend about his two dogs. Apparently, Gizmo, a 10 pound puggle, and Teddy, a 13 pound Shih Tzu mix, had escaped his yard and someone posted about it on a local Facebook group, according to The Washington Post.
Nick hopped in his car to head back home and at around the same time, another Sturgeon resident noticed a little white pooch in her unfenced yard — Teddy. By that point, Teddy and Gizmo had separated, possibly because the Shih Tzu was completely deaf and blind. The homeowner got Teddy some water and looked online for any missing dog posts, but didn’t find any. So she called the police to see if they could help. According to the outlet, the dispatcher asked the unnamed woman if the dog appeared to be aggressive, to which she responded, “No, not at all.” So officer Myron Woodson was dispatched, and that’s where things took a tragic turn…
Related: Angie Harmon SUING Instacart & Shopper Who Shot Her Dog!
In body cam footage obtained by multiple outlets, you can see Myron attempting to get a hold of the 5-year-old dog with a catch pole. It didn’t seem like a difficult task… We mean, Teddy was pretty slow-moving and appeared to be very gentle! Anyways, in the footage, the officer follows the harmless-looking dog around an open field for about five minutes. Then, out of nowhere, he draws his weapon and fires two fatal shots at the dog!
WTF!
You can see the footage below, but be warned, it’s graphic and extremely distressing:
Why on EARTH would a full-grown man feel the need to shoot a 13 pound dog?! According to the Washington Post, the officer told Nick that he believed Teddy was injured and needed to be put down… And that was his call to make?? But on Monday, the Sturgeon Police Department released an official statement declaring that Myron shot the dog because he “feared being bitten and being infected with rabies.” See the full statement (below):
Are you KIDDING?!
Then, in a follow up post on Thursday, it was revealed that after reviewing the body cam footage, the city “believes that the officer acted within his authority” and cleared him of any misconduct.
WTFFF! That’s ABSURD!
In the wake of Teddy’s murder and the city’s handling of the case, citizens have created a petition to have Myron removed from the police force. As of now, it has nearly 40,000 signatures.
One silver lining, however, is that Gizmo was returned safe and sound to Nick. The devastated pet owner is said to be considering legal action.
What an awful, awful, awful situation. That poor dog. Out hearts are with Nick.
[Images via City of Sturgeon Missouri/Facebook]
