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.

They closed the road for a swan this morning they could have done it for the dog.

Really? That road?

I love that there are so many people on here who can clearly do the police's job better than them (I bet they wish they'd called on MN for advice rather than their superiors who are experts in the matter) - and also who knew dog wardens and the RSPCA had super powers that the police don't?

I think they did absolutely the right thing.

If it were a cow on the road, I doubt the cow would have bitten them after being caught and run off again.

I also think Horses and Cows on the road are a different matter. Hitting a dog or cat with your car is really only going to damage the dog or cat. Hate to think what my car and I would look like after hitting a cow.

I am very surprised at all the people saying that the A55 couldnt be closed, considering that 18 months ago I spent 9 hours stationery in traffic when the M42 was closed for a threatened suicide. The A55 in the early hours, whilst busy, is nowhere near as busy as the M42/M5 during the day.

Bit of a difference there Dallas

At thought I misread and thought the dog had been shot, but purposefully ran over? That's disgusting and inhuman.

The firearms people were called and could not get a safe shot at the dog.

They closed the road for a swan this morning they could have done it for the dog.

Right. Was that a busy dual carriageway leading to a major port? If not, it's totally irrelevant.

3sugars, given that it wasn't possible to shoot the dog, what do you think should have happened? Might it conceivably have been a bit more disgusting to leave the dog running around where it could have caused a very serious accident?

YABU - It was quite clearly Hobson's Choice. I feel bad for the Police Officers

And those bleating on about how it was cruel/inhuman/wrong/shouldn't have happened etc. - you've been told by at least one police officer on here that you are misinformed about availability of tranquillisers, dog wardens and so on but you continue to say it was "wrong".

And you also say you don't know what the solution was because you aren't Police Officers! Well quite...

Maybe they should have mobilised the firearms unit to shoot the bloody dog

Or maybe they had some bloody common sense. Honestly as people gVecsaud, animals due on the roads all the time and no one gives a toss. Deer, badgers, rabbits, pheasants...

Calico What do you imagine a cow would do, lick the officer and find some grass to chew on? Have you ever been in a pen with a cow that really doesn't want to go in the direction that you want it to? They would have had no choice but to close the road.

EveDallas, I don't think people are saying that it would have been totally impossible to close the road; simply that it would have been incredibly difficult at 6 a.m. given how busy it is and the very limited staff available to the police at that time of day. It would be justifiable to call in off-duty police etc to close the road for a potential suicide, but not, I would suggest, for a stray dog.

I think it would be hell of a lot easier for a firearms officer to shoot a cow than a panicked small fox terrier.

I was stuck on the M5 for hours one night as a flock of sheep had got onto the north bound carriageway. Fortunately I was at the front of the hold up so at least I had a laugh watching the police trying to round them up. I know its not funny really but herding cats came to mind and I couldn't help it.

How hard would it be to deliberately hit a dog that is running all over the place?

That sounds kind of dangerous to me.

need Yes I have, and in my experience most cows do not bite and are easier to deal with than a dog. Also a bigger target for shooting.

It would have taken hours to get enough officers and equipment to the scene to close the road - as many have pointed out, this was North Wales at 3am, not central London. You would have had to pull officers in from miles around, potentially pulling them away from other urgent situations.

You can't just magic up several more police officers in a remote rural area in the middle of the night. During the several hours it would have taken to assemble such a team, rush hour would be upon them, and that's several more hours the dog would have had to cause an accident. The A55 is THE major road on the North Welsh coast. It's not a little backwater as some posters seem to think.

It breaks my heart to think of the poor dog - I have two myself and I would be inconsolable if this happened to either of them. But I still think the right call was made in this situation.

That's one word for it Pike...