Final signature count: 20,340

20,340 signatures toward our 30,000 goal

Tell the Department of Justice to make it mandatory for officers to take a canine behavior training course to learn how to interact with dogs without lethal force!

10,000 dogs a year are being shot and killed by police officers! [1] This is an epidemic and needs to stop! Many of the dogs killed were friendly family members or service dogs. They were simply shot because the police officer “felt threatened” so it was “justified.”

Police officers are treating the frightened animals as “hostile” and shooting them. Instead of assessing the situation, police officers are reaching for their guns first. Animal Legal Defense Fund states “No officer has ever been killed in the line of duty by a dog.” [2]

The National Canine Research Council is trying to save dogs through a 5 step video training series. [3] The series trains police officers how to interact with dogs and how to protect themselves without lethal force. This video needs to be a mandatory part of training for all police officers.

Some states like Colorado and Texas have passed laws to protect dogs by requiring training for dog encounters. Postal workers have many dog encounters per year and they have taken a different route to dealing with dogs. They are offered training with live dogs and how to communicate and negate a situation safely. [4]

Thousands of dogs are killed by police when they show up at the wrong address and shoot first without thinking. Dogs are family members not property. The families are left devastated and the poor dog lost their life. Taking a life is serious and needs to be treated as such.

There are videos of police shooting dogs in the dogs’ own backyard. Right before the dogs are shot the video shows one dog’s tail wagging. [5] Other dogs have been shot because they barked when the police entered their home. These are normal things for a dog to do and not hostile. Dogs deserve more respect from the police.