MANSFIELD, Ohio — People love their dogs.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately 37-47 percent of all households in the United States have a dog.
Because canine companions are such a large part of society, police frequently deal with them in the line of duty, and not just when responding to calls about dogs that pose a threat to people or calls about animal abuse.
Officers can encounter dogs in a variety of situations, whether serving warrants, making traffic stops or many other circumstances.
What happens when “man’s best friend” doesn’t appear so friendly and acts aggressive toward law enforcement?
According to officials, how officers respond depends on the situation.
Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz said, “For us it’s primarily a training issue. Officers are aware that pets are pets. They’re domestic animals so they’re found in a majority of homes. So when officers are confronted with dogs, they already know that the first thing to do is to try to contain the animal. The last option would be to use deadly force, and that’s only when the dog can’t be contained and it’s being vicious.
“Outside of that it’s pretty much standard for us that we call the dog warden.”
He said the police department often partners with the dog warden’s office when serving search warrants.
Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon said the sheriff’s office also seeks assistance from the dog warden, noting, “Most of the time, we’re going to refer to the dog warden if we can.”
He said the sheriff’s office uses special equipment, such as catch poles, to help control the animal.
Echoing Coontz’s statement, Sheldon said deadly force is a last resort.
“Being a former K9 officer, the dogs are pretty important to me,” he said.
Richland County Dog Warden David Jordan said his office partners with all law enforcement agencies in the county.
“In order for [law enforcement] to be able to do their job, we are there to assist them, to control and remove the dog from the home,” he said.
“There’s a lot of timing that’s involved,” he continued. “We don’t train on a regular basis to be the first responder into a home, especially a home that may be a dangerous situation as far as a possible felon inside who could be armed. So our response depends on the situation.
“We’ve quite often worked in tandem with law enforcement agencies, and they may go in right before us and we go in right behind them.”
Jordan noted that dog warden deputies are fully trained and state certified peace officers.
“We’re regular law enforcement like any other agency, but we specialize in enforcing the dog laws,” he said.
Coontz said there have been incidents in the past when officers have been attacked by dogs.
“We’ve had to Taser dogs in the past. We’ve had to shoot dogs in the past. There’s no protocol to which one you do. It’s really about the size of the dog, its level of aggression and the officer’s discretion at that moment,” he said.
He continued, “Tasers are very dangerous to use on a dog because as soon as you cut the power off, the dog doesn’t feel any pain so they’ll do one of two things–they’ll either run away because they get scared or they’ll continue to fight and try to bite.
“Tasers aren’t the most effective in all cases.”
Coontz said officers take caution when handling dogs, regardless the size.
“I’ve seen some little dogs be very aggressive. And the big dogs can be aggressive and ugly too, especially pit bulls,” he said.
He recalled one incident in which two pit bulls attacked an adult and child taking care of a Mansfield residence while the owners were on vacation. “I think [the dogs] nearly ripped the face off the kid and the forearm of the adult,” he said.
“I believe our officers ended up having to kill at least one of the two pit bulls. It was a horrific scene as you can imagine, not being able to recognize the face of a small child.”
Jordan said that once a dog is contained, it may or may not be taken to the dog shelter. For instance, if an arrest is made at a home where a few individuals live, the dog may be left with the remaining owner, he said, “providing it’s a safe situation for the dog; if it’s not, then we would impound the dog and bring it back to our shelter.”
“For us it’s primarily a training issue. Officers are aware that pets are pets. They’re domestic animals so they’re found in a majority of homes. So when officers are confronted with dogs, they already know that the first thing to do is to try to contain the animal. The last option would be to use deadly force, and that’s only when the dog can’t be contained and it’s being vicious,” Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz said.
