Whales and Wiener Dogs

(UPDATE: The officer who shot Killer has been identified: Murrill McLean, 43, of Danville.)

The outrage continues over the death of Killer, a Danville, Va. wiener dog who was gunned down by the police earlier in the week.

Message boards and the blogosphere are afire with questions and condemnation.

GoDanRiver.com has posted a series of letters and emails to its editor. People are not happy. A few samples:

“The police shooting of miniature dachshund was a senseless killing. A small, growling dog running through the yard — do you not have a large foot? Are you able to use any of your other options (pepper spray, Taser or baton)?…”

“I have the type of job that requires me to go to people’s houses every day.
It is rare that a day goes by that I am not approached by a barking, territorial dog. Sometimes they catch me out in the yard as was the case here.

I have yet to be bitten. Why? Because I use options…like stopping,voice, and feet. A small dog will respond to a lifted foot to block his approach. Worse case scenario would be a slight kick to stop a potential ankle bite…however, never had to kick a dog either.
This was abuse of power & policy. It wasn’t a large dog. There is no real threat….”

In the video clip at the top of the post, several of Killer’s friends – both canine and human – are featured, and it’s clear his neighborhood will be slow to recover from the shocking loss of the little wiener dog. Says one woman, “He’s in the arms of the angels now…” (Note: I give you about a 1 in 10 chance of actually getting that video to play.)

And, finally, there’s disturbing, but unsurprising news, describing the cop’s attitude as both cavalier and confrontational. According to Killer’s owner Tawaiian Harper, Killer lay there “with his guts hanging out” as Officer McLean leaned against this police car smoking a cigarette. When Harper asked McLean for his name and badge number, McLean refused.