WY: Owner of slain pit bull: Dog wasn't aggressive

The policeman who shot the dog last weekend says the dog was "extremely aggressive," but its owner says the opposite is true.


CHEYENNE -- The pit bull that was shot and killed by a Laramie County Sheriff's deputy last weekend "would never hurt a soul," the dog's owner said Friday.

The purebred blue nose pit bull named Buddy was shot by police last Sunday after he and his sister, Star, escaped Amanda Stephens' yard by burrowing under a fence.

"They have never run away (before)," Stephens said. “They are well-maintained, well-trained dogs. They are just the most amazing dogs.”

Stephens said she plans to file a lawsuit against the sheriff’s department and the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, which oversees the city and county’s Animal Control officers.

Bob Fecht, director of the animal shelter, said Animal Control Officer Myra Pacheco responded to a report of “two dogs at large” near College Drive, north of Laramie County Community College.

When she arrived on the scene and exited her vehicle, Pacheco did not immediately see any dogs, Fecht said.

“Then they appeared and came full speed at her,” Fecht said. “She pulled out her baton to keep them at arm’s length and backed up. Then she got back in her vehicle.”

The dogs then began to circle her vehicle. Pacheco called the sheriff’s department for back-up, Fecht said.

Soon after, two sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, Fecht said.

Gerry Luce, spokesman for the sheriff’s department, identified the deputies as David Stevens and Heidi Koehler.

Fecht, a former Cheyenne Police chief, said he knows Stevens personally.

“You are talking about a pretty experienced officer,” he said.

Luce said Stevens exited the police car while Koehler remained in the vehicle.

“He didn’t get two steps out of the car before the dogs charged,” Fecht said.

Luce said, “Deputy Stevens first tried to get the dogs to leave the area and retreat by yelling at them.”

The dogs continued to act in “an extremely aggressive manor,” and Stevens was forced to fire his

service weapon and kill the dog, Luce said.

After the incident, Star showed up on the nearby doorstep of Rica Robinson.

Robinson described the year-and-a-half-old pit bull as “kind and loving.”

“She was just the sweetest thing,” Robinson said. “She got along with my dog, my cat, everyone.”

Robinson added, “If they showed any aggression, it is probably because the Animal Control officer came at them with a (baton).”

She added, “If (Buddy and Star) were anything alike, they were raised and trained to be very sweet.”

Robinson never had any contact with Buddy.

Fecht said all dog breeds have innate character traits, like aggressiveness.

“But you can enhance or diminish those traits through training,” Fecht said. “(The Cheyenne Animal Shelter) can connect dog owners with trainers that can help dogs curtail or control those natural tendencies (like aggressiveness).”

Pit bulls are known to be a breed prone to aggressiveness. But that does not mean that all pit bulls are aggressive. It simply means they must be properly trained, Fecht said.

By Lucas High Saturday, January 25, 2014
Owner of slain pit bull: Dog wasn't aggressive - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online