Florida: Off-Duty Officer Fatally Shoots Neighbor’s ‘Aggressive’ Dog In His Backyard

A dog-owner from Jacksonville, Florida has launched a campaign to have an off-duty officer to be held accountable for the death of her pet dog. According to USA Today, the officer identified as C. Bradley Shivers shot the dog in the head after it entered his backyard through a hole in the fence. While Shivers has admitted to shooting the dog, he claims he did so because the dog was extremely aggressive towards his family members who were around the poolside when the dog named “Goose” entered the backyard. Shivers added that he decided to use his gun after the dog lunged at him.

The owner of the dog, Chelsea Pavish, however, does not agree. According to her, the dog was “lazy and goof” and did not have an aggressive disposition. She adds that for her dog to have lunged at Shivers was completely out of character for her pet.

“Impossible! He’s so lazy… very goofy. If he was afraid, he would back away,” Chelsea told newspersons on Monday.

According to The Jacksonville, the events that led to the fatal shooting of the pet dog happened at around 7 p.m., Friday. According to Bradley Shivers, he was with his wife and two children, aged 3 and 7, on their pool deck in their backyard when Goose ran into the yard. The dog, according to him, was barking in aggression and was becoming a threat to his children. He then tried to fend the dog using a rake – a trick he claimed to have used on Goose on earlier occasions. However, it failed to work this time. He then asked his family members to get into the pool, went back in and came out with his gun. He again attempted to push the dog off using the rake but fell down in the process. The dog then lunged towards him, and he was left with no option but to fire at the dog. The single shot hit Goose in the head. The dog later died at an animal hospital.

According to Pavish, she claims that she understands Shivers’ concern for his family. However, she adds that instead of getting inside the home and get a gun, all Shivers could have done was to close the back door to save his children from the aggressive dog.

“He could have just gone in and closed the back door,” she said. “I don’t understand that mind set.”

A Sheriff’s Office investigation was closed, and no charges were filed against anyone following the incident. Pavish, however, says she is considering filing charges against Shivers. She also fears that her complaint could be “swept under the rug”.

While Pavish is still considering the legal option, she has already filed an online petition. A Facebook page titled Justice4Goose has also been set up and has received a considerable amount of traction.

In a separate Facebook post, Chelsea has termed Shivers a dog killer.

She writes, “He (Shivers) didn’t come to inform us that he had shot our dog nor has he spoken a word to us since this happened. There has been no sign of remorse from his family…. This man is a dog killer who is absolutely and completely heartless.”

According to Pavish, Goose was a basset hound mix she had bought from a shelter just four months ago.

This is not the first time we’re hearing about law enforcement officers killing dogs. The Inquisitr has on several occasions reported about similar incidents. In fact, just recently, we had reported about an NYPD policeman who shot at a dog in front of a crowd of people.

[Image Via Facebook]