Protecting our companion animals

In the recent past two companion dogs have been killed by police officers in the metro-Denver area. One of these killings happened last week.

Mike and I share our lives and our home with six companion animals: Rock, Miguel, Suga and Monty the dogs and Chin and Cheng the chinchillas. As all of you do for your companion animals, I love each of them with all of my heart and do everything I can to make sure they are safe, loved and happy.

Both dogs that were shot by the police had families that loved them.

I can't even imagine what those families are going through. In one case the dog got out of the house. In the other, the police entered the wrong house.

I love letting our dogs out front. For the most part they stay with me. For the most part. I have to keep an eye on them. Mike has tried so many times to get me to stop letting them out front, and I assure you I am as close as ever. Except for Miguel. He'll stay with me and not leave the yard, even if another dog comes by.

Our dogs are up to date on their shots. They are all licensed. They have a huge fenced-in backyard where they are safe to roam, play and sniff. We take them around the block and to a local open space for walks. And of course they are loved on all the time!

After the first dog was shot and killed I considered writing a letter to our Chief of Police asking him to create a policy or strengthen a current policy on interaction with people's companion animals. Now I am for sure going to write the letter, and perhaps contact my two city council members. Many times I have written about encouraging our readers to be the voice for the voiceless. This is an example of doing just that.

I ask you to make a connecting with your local police department and to ask the person(s) who represents you on city council to make sure that companion animals are protected from police in any situation unless death or injury is imminent. The more we talk about this and the mroe we communicate our thoughts to those in power, the likelihood of another dog being killed by police decreases.

Will you join us?

Thank you for reading!

Another dead pit bull

If you live in the Denver area you might have heard of the part pit bull dog named Chloe who was shot five times by a Commerce City police person last week. A neighbor videotaped the shooting and from any aspect it looks like the shooting/killing was completely unnecessary.

The story was incredibly sad.

Pit bulls have a bad name in Colorado, not unlike many places around the country. In Denver, there is a ban on pit bulls. What this means is that hundreds of pit bulls have been killed in Denver and shelters outside of Denver are packed with pit bulls. And of course you can purchase pit bull puppies online on Craigs List.

In Lakewood, where Mike and I live, and just 1.5 miles from the Denver dead zone for pit bulls, they are safe. Our city council has talked about a ban and decided that the city and our citizens would be better off without a ban.

To be clear, I do not know a lot about BSL, or Breed Specific Legislation. I am not even sure if I have the correct words for BSL. I try to read what both sides have written regarding bans. For me, I get to see what happens because of a ban. I see many dogs killed for one reason only, that they are a pit bull, or one of the similar breeds. And then I see shelters around cities with a ban have many pit bulls for adoption, in some shelters pit bulls are more than half of available dogs for adoption. There is no way that all of them can survive in the shelter, so inevitably they are put down.

My history with pit bulls comes from Geronimo, our past next door neighbor. His head was bigger than all of our dogs except for Miguel. Geronimo LOVED playing with all of our dogs and would run the fence with them every day. He was a gentle lover. When our neighbor moved, I totally missed Geronimo.

I am one of those who believes that a companion dog acts a certain way because of how he or she is treated. I also believe that even if any companion dog is one who is uncomfortable around strangers, that their human companions can keep them and the strangers safe.

I look forward to the day when in Denver being a pit bull does not mean that their family has to move or a death sentence for the dog. How many more dogs will have to die before the powers that be realize that killing dogs is not the answer?

Meanwhile, I mourn with Chloe's family and anyone who loved her. Perhaps once she got out of her house that day she had no chance. And perhaps those of us who love pit bulls or who love dogs in general can change what is happening to a breed who gets a bad rap.

I don't have the answers. I'm just sick of seeing all of these beautiful dogs being killed.

Thanks for reading!