Deputy David Eveleth shot the Shar-Pei named Roxy about 2 p.m. Saturday after the dog got loose, wandered into his yard in Longwood, growled, lowered her head and bared her teeth, a sheriff's report states.
Eveleth yelled at the 13-year-old dog to try to get her to go home, but after she showed aggression, he shot her three times with a Smith & Wesson .380-caliber handgun, Longwood police spokesman Officer Kevin Tuck said.
The gun belongs to Eveleth and is not his service weapon.
"He has not broken any laws, nor is he in violation of any Sheriff's Office policies," a sheriff's spokesman said in an email.
After the shooting, the dog's owner or owners wrote the words "dog killer" on their fence and on signs pointing to Eveleth's yard, officers said. Another hand-painted sign reads, "Take his badge."
Neighbors have made numerous complaints through the years about the Shar-Pei and two other dogs belonging to the same owners running loose and being aggressive, Tuck said.
Fourteen complaints have been lodged since the family has lived at its current address. Nineteen complaints were made when the family lived elsewhere in Longwood.
On one occasion, one or more of the dogs cornered Eveleth's 8-year-old daughter in her family's garage, Tuck said. Neighbors have tried asking the family to contain the dogs, but to no avail, police said.
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| I love that he has all this time to make signs, but couldn't be bothered to keep his dog tied up or inside his fence. THIRTY-THREE COMPLAINTS about his animals - and yet he blames the neighbor for what's happened. |
Seminole County Animal Services issued two citations to the dogs' owner, David Fox, on May 3. He could not be reached Monday.
A friend who was with Eveleth corroborated his story and told deputies he was afraid of the Shar-Pei.
(Orlando Sentinel - July 22, 2013)
