After a brief delay, Bryant got the weapon in position and fired at the dog.
He missed.
Bryant was lucky. He was training to learn how to use a Taser gun. The charging dog was nothing more than a foam deer practice target, minus its legs, mounted on a creeper slide used by auto mechanics.
A rope was tied to it, and another officer pulled it to bring the charging dog across the room.
"Believe me, this is way more realistic than shooting a Taser into a piece of plywood," Animal Control Director John Lauby said as a training session began earlier this week.
All Animal Control officers have trained or are in the process of training to learn to use Tasers against aggressive or charging dogs, Lauby said.
The county recently agreed to purchase up-to-date Tasers for all 22 Animal Control enforcement officers, Lauby said. The X26 models will replace the bulky and hard-to-use M26 Tasers that about half of the officers carried in the field, Lauby said.
He pushed for the newer weapons to be issued to all officers after one was attacked and severely injured in May by two aggressive dogs.
Officer Mireille Diltz had responded to a call about two pit bulls roaming in a neighborhood. Animal Control officers are not permitted to carry handguns in their holster, and Diltz was among those who did not have a Taser, Lauby said.
Diltz was armed with an ASP baton when she was attacked inside a fenced backyard. Only the quick thinking of neighbor saved her. He tossed bricks over the fence to distract the dogs, and Diltz crawled to safety.
The bite wounds on her arms, hands and legs required more than 40 stitches to close.
Lauby said he wasn't going to let that happen to another officer.
Most of the staff have completed their training, Lauby said, and about half are still awaiting the arrival of their Tasers.
Learning to use them on a dog is going to require practice, he said, which is why he concocted the charging-dog dummy.
Bryant and another officer, Kris Long, had their problems as they tried to position the gun properly. The gun must be held sideways, horizontal to the ground, in use against canines, Lauby said.
Both officers finally managed to get the weapon in position and use it on the target.
"Stay with the dog as it moves," Lauby told them.
Bryant missed on one effort.
"You need to practice," Lauby said. "If you're out there, that dog will eat you. It's got to be reflexive."
The officers practiced with a cartridge, which sends probes into the target, and without one. That is known as arcing, Lauby said, and sends an electrical charge to the target without using the probes.
A red laser appears on the target and once the Taser trigger is pulled, it makes a loud clicking noise that emits electricity for five seconds.
Dogs that are stunned with Tasers, Lauby said, are stopped in their tracks by the charge. They'll remain immobile as long as the weapon is in contact with them. Once the Taser is removed, most dogs will get up, tuck their tails between their legs and run away, Lauby said.
"It's a little different," Bryant said of the weapon. "But it will give protection."
The Tasers and training came not a moment too soon for Diltz.
Tuesday night, Diltz answered a call about three dogs roaming on Sumac Circle, Lauby said.
When she encountered the dogs, Lauby said, the pack leader, a pit bull, charged at her.
Diltz used the Taser without the cartridge on the dog and stopped it, Lauby said.
The dog, once recovered from the stun, turned tail and headed home. The others followed, Lauby said.
"It worked just like it should have," Lauby said.
(Fay Observer - Aug 02, 2013)
Earlier:
