Unusual Gun Violence Against Police in Minnesota

As readers may have guessed from my nom de plume, I have an affinity for dogs, as a dog trainer, breeder, exhibitor/competitor/participant in a variety of canine-related activities.  It has been my passion and avocation for a couple of decades.  Police dogs are every bit as much valuable and effective members of police forces as are their two-legged counterparts.  That kind of important partnership was demonstrated by a canine team member in the recent Navy Seals shooting of Osama bin Laden. 

This fatal police dog shooting represents another very real, and a very sad, instance of unwarranted and inappropriate gun violence, appropriate for listing here.

From the STrib and the Grand Forks Herald:

Minnesota police dog is 1 of 2 canines shot, killed, dumped on country road; no suspects
BAGLEY, Minn. - A police officer in northwestern Minnesota is distraught after the slain body of his police dog was found along a country road.

The dog was one of two that had been shot and killed with a small-caliber gun. Both appeared to have been killed elsewhere and dumped on the road.

The dogs belonged to Bagley police Sgt. Larry Peterson. He says both were very gentle and would have been easy targets for whoever shot them. He says they weren't known for chasing livestock or deer, which are legal justifications for shooting stray dogs.

The Grand Forks Herald report ( http://bit.ly/lrsrH3) says the police dog was Copper, a hound-Labrador cross. The department has only three full-time officers and two part-timers, so the loss of a police dog is especially difficult.

There are no suspects.