In Lorain, Ohio, an investigation is underway following the shooting death of a family’s Labrador retriever on Sunday by a police officer.
According to the Morning Journal, the heartbroken family is outraged by the Sunday afternoon incident when the dogs’ owners Tammie and Mellenie Kerns ran outside the front door to round up their four dogs who had escaped out the front door while the mother and daughter had been preparing to leave for an errand.
As the women called out to the dogs to get them back inside, a Lorain police officer pulled up, and the women were at first thankful, thinking the officer would direct traffic until the dogs were all safely secured.
Dixie, the family’s three-year-old yellow Labrador retriever mix, had been fidgety since the fireworks the previous evening and had run into the street. At that time the officer pulled over and called for the dog who did not respond. Mellenie had already been able to corral two of the dogs including Dixie when the officer started to yell.
The women allegedly asked the officer not to yell, since all of the dogs had been on edge hearing the constant blasts of fireworks all over the neighborhood.
The officer carelessly shot the dog after calling for the dog to come to him, the dog was coming wagging her tail only to be shot, then after the dog trying to get up he shot her an additional three times. The dog was not aggressive nor was she doing anything to warrant such a horrendous act of violence. This is not the type of policing our city needs nor wants. We demand answers and resolution and justice for Dixie and her family.
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Mellenie described the heartbreaking situation as she watched her dog having taken off the other way from the officer, and then had been at least six-feet away from the officer when he fired his first shot. The bullet hit Dixie in the spine, and she fell to the ground with a yelp and tried to pull herself across the street back to her family. Her back legs dragged behind her. And at that point, the officer fired three more shots at her and killed her in the family’s driveway.
The officer wouldn’t allow the family to comfort their dog as she laid there crying and dying until they took photos, and by that time Dixie had died.
There was no aggression, nothing. She is one of the most lovable dogs ever possible. This dog never had any biting incidents.
Tammie as told to news media
A witness in the area accompanied by the 10-year-old son described what she saw:
The Lorain Police Department officials confirmed the shooting, but said they have no comments at this time as they are reviewing the case.
A video following the shooting has been shared on Facebook where it has been viewed over 7,000 times since July 2.
Check out the video:
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