A citizen in Sturgeon, Missouri, who owned a blind and dumb dog that was shot and killed by a police officer has officially complained to the city government. On Sunday, the event started when cops were called to a report of an injured animal that was on the run. People thought the dog was showing signs of rabies. But it turned out that the dog, a Shih Tzu mix, was acting strangely because he was blind, not because he had rabies.
A police officer in Sturgeon shoots and kills a small blind dog.
Teddy was born blind and deaf. He is a 5-year-old Shih Tzu and weighs 13 pounds. Nicholas Hunter, who owned him, said that he was always a very active dog. On Monday, the City of Sturgeon said something on social media. The group said that the officer who responded felt forced to put the dog down because he thought he was rabid, which was not true.
According to ABC 17, Hunter was out to dinner in Columbia when he got a scary call about his dog. The city told him that Teddy had been found in a social media post. Reports say that the person who found Teddy called Boone County Joint Communications. The people said the dog wasn’t dangerous and was just drinking water next to them.
Hunter was on his way to the scene of the crime when he heard that Sturgeon Police had stepped in and shot Teddy, killing him. Hunter talked about his trip to the police station and his conversation with the cop in charge. Even though the cop seemed sorry in a video shared with ABC 17, he had initially explained why he did what he did. He thought Teddy might have been hurt, lost, or left behind.
More confusion emerged when, later, the mayor said that the officer’s actions were likely caused by fear of rabies. This reason wasn’t talked about in Hunter’s videotaped conversation, where it was said that Teddy had all of his shots, including the rabies shot.
Hunter filed a complaint with the City of Sturgeon because there were differences between the officer’s story, the mayor’s public statement, and the actions of the person who first found Teddy and said there were no threats. Hunter said, “I hope these officers and future officers can figure out a way to follow the fourth continuum, our levels, correctly instead of going straight to lethal force.”
