AIBU to think that something other than killing this dog could have been done?

[NotGonnaAnswerThePhone]

This is such a terrible story and not to be read by the fainthearted.

I understand that the dog could have caused an accident even at 3am when traffic is a lot quieter but surely they could have tranquilised it? Shit, even shooting it would have been more humane than accelerating towards it at such a high speed to ensure the dog would be killed outright.

"I have said many times during this thread that animals on the road is not unusual - yet this this is the first time we hear of them being run over to get them out of the way. You know why there's an outcry? Because it is a horrible thing to do and not normal or right."

This is the first time we have heard this happen because it is probably the first time that all the other things they usually do either didn't work or were unsafe to try. This was not their first and only choice, they tried other things first, if they hand't I would agree with you.

If you know it well, as does DH, then you must know how hard it would be to contain a dog within it, to capture it, road closure or not! And did anyone say it was a motorway? I have lost track of who said what, when...

At the very root of this was a frightened dog that was just running, on a dual carriageway, that had already caused HGVs an issue, had already bitten a policeman and was unlikely to have been caught or corralled easily, if at all.

I doubt the investigation will agree that the actions were wholly justified but nor will the policemen on the scene be censured. In real life sometimes, shit happens and the general consensus will probably be that whilst this cannot be condoned it was unlikely to have had a much less unpleasant outcome.

One of dm's friends was killed and her dc, all under 10 seriously injured when they swerved to avoid a loose dog. Much slower road too.

yet this this is the first time we hear of them being run over to get them out of the way.

I think animals in roads are run over all the time, the only reason we heard about it this time is because the police did it before a car or hgv did.

Doesn't the highway code specifically state that you should not brake or swerve to avoid animals in the road but instead maintain your speed and path to avoid an accident?

Yanbu to be upset as it is sad but realistically there was very little else that could safely be done under the circumstances.

Its a shame. But seems right call.

Oodboots, my point is they obviously didn't do all they could, as other police forces manage to get animals off the road without resorting to this. As with my swan example - if it had been one of those on the road, it's illegal to harm one, they would have had to do something else. However, since they won't be prosecuted for doing this, they obviously didn't everything they possibly could, and what they did do was cruel. If anyone but the police would have run down an animal like this, they would have been arrested for animal cruelty and dangerous driving.

It's just a dog.

Much as I hate to see animals suffer, human lives come first.

The police spent a long time trying to catch the animal, one policeman got injured in the process.

The animal in question would have suffered far less by being killed than by being chased for several more hours, probably with the same result.

It's just a dog.

So what is the 'something else ? ' Stop criticising , get your enormous mind working , and THINK . Provide a solution , using very few resources , without the help of the RSPCA , a dog warden , and with the knowledge that a specialist vet is going to be at least an hour , maybe two to get to you . Further factor in the fact that this will have been going on for at least two hours , and that the surrounding area is not securely fenced all the way round , so it's not as if you can just corral it into a garden . Then factor in the resources available . At best , 4 traffic cars because they're the only ones allowed on fast roads , with probably 7 officers in total . To stop the traffic flowing you need to block the road , and the slip roads onto the carriageway , which takes all those 4 cars and the officers without anyone left to actually catch the dog . And that's all the roads policing units for all of North Wales . Factor in that it's dark , and the traffic is starting to build . Factor in that the dog is a foxhound , not a normally housekept breed , that has been running about frightened for at least two hours , and has already bitten one officer .

Solution please.

Some of these "great ideas" on how to capture the dog really make me think the police officers should have just offered the dog a cream egg to cheer it up

The A55 isn't a motorway and at 3am is very quiet.

It's quite like a motorway though.

In that it is a dual carriageway with proper exits.

By 4 or 5 am you would have traffic building up going to and from the port.

At that time of the night people drive really fast. And there would be a high proportion of HGVs.

It's not some sleepy deserted A road.

I really don't understand how it is remotely controversial that a human life is worth more than an animal's life. Obviously it is sad that the dog died, and it would have been better if one of the other options had worked. But if an animal is likely to case harm to a human I would (personally) do whatever it took to protect the human. I think that faced with the same choice irl most people would.

All these people saying "they should have tried to catch it first". They did. An officer was bitten in the process. Firearms officers were sent to the scene but said they were concerned they wouldn't be able to get a safe shot.

And it was not "in" the tunnel (lit or unlit) but between a roundabout and the tunnel.

So even on this thread people aren't accurate about the facts.

I tend to think that, under the circumstances, those on the ground who were aware of these facts, and having tried to catch the dog for some considerable time, were aware that traffic had to swerve to avoid the dog and therefore needed to ensure the safety of others, probably have a better idea of what to do than us sitting at home on our laptops. And I say that as an animal lover.

the police officers should have just offered the dog a cream egg to cheer it up

But did anyone think to shine a bat sign into the sky?

Firearms officers were sent to the scene but said they were concerned they wouldn't be able to get a safe shot.

Oh I didn't know that.

It doesn't change my mind, because I already thought the people on the ground who know about being in the police would be the judge of what was possible, but that confirms that they did try very hard to avoid hitting the dog with a car.

(Arguably too hard)

Glad you think killing animals is so funny GloGirl. Don't quite understand how coming up with solutions to fixing the whole police funding issue changes the facts here either. Obviously these poor policemen had no training in how to deal with a dog in the road, and after chasing it for a bit it's a totally sensible solution to hit it with a car. Maybe we should all take a leaf out their books - next time an animal gets in my way, I'll just run it over.

Oh don't start that nonsense Benevolent She didn't say anywhere it was funny. She tried to make light of some of the ridiculous posts on here.

mrsgently, how much personal risk should the police officers have to take to save the life of a dog? One had already been bitten.

Maybe we should all take a leaf out their books - next time an animal gets in my way, I'll just run it over.

Well it's pretty much what the highway code recommends. Do slow down or swerve because it may cause an accident.

MrsGently

You wish it had happened at rush hour? Seriously? Are you that lacking in imagination?

Well let me tell you the reality.

Police knocking on your foot telling you that your dd had been involved in a crash and might not make it.

Thoughtless comments and I challenge anyone to love their dogs and cats more than we do.

*Don't not Do.

I'm not asking you for a solution about funding . I'm asking you to provide a solution to a specific issue using the available resources and options .

Yes, come on Mrs Gently - you've been asked more than once that if you are so sure that other things could and should have been done before the dog was run over, what are they? Shooting was ruled out by firearms officers as unsafe. They had tried manually catching the dog but it bit and officer and escaped. Clearly, firing a poison dart was out. Putting down poison meat in the hope it might have eaten it?

I am quite prepared to accept that something else could have been done, but neither you nor anyone else has yet stated what that something else could be.

MrsGently, I have personally attempted to help save 6 dogs (ish) from the public roads in the last 5 years or so. I still have a hole in my leg from the last attempt when I was bitten. Only as a member of the public walking or driving around my local area who has found these dogs.

It's obvious to anyone who has encountered a stressed dog that most of these suggestions are half arsed and poorly thought out.

Heres my 2 cents worth. I live near where it happened. There are tunnels, there are parts with no lights and there are constant HGV's heading to and from Holyhead ferry terminal. It's a horrible road in the dark. I get on it at 6.45am for work, it's hair raising, HGV's speed through the 50mph parts. I've had so many near misses on that road in winter in the dark. I'm changing jobs to get off that road.
For safety I can understand why they did what they did. If the call came in at 3am, buy the time they tracked the dog down, who knows how late it was getting. by 6.30 that road is buzzing. People commute up to Chester and that way and leave very early along with the HGV's piling up they needed to act fast before they ended up with a pile up of cars and injured people.
Not a dog I know, but I ran over a squirrel one time. Stupid thing stopped and changed direction in the road, I was doing about 45, one lane each way, traffic coming towards me, and an orchard right to the road edge. No way I could avoid without hitting either another car or a few trees all old full grown solid trees I hit it, my kids in the back seat were more important to me. It still bothers me I did that.

I don't believe they will have done this lightly as the reaction from animal lovers is to be expected. It sounds like the dog was very distressed and this was a last resort. I feel sorry for the officers who were involved