Early afternoon on Christmas Eve, neighbors called Animal Control twice over the dogs running free and were told no one could respond until Dec 26 as all had gone home, and to call the Sheriff’s Department.
Two dogs, a pit bull and brown and tan shepherd mix, were threatening children playing in their front yard and bit or nipped at the parent who tried to shoo the dogs away with a broom. The deputy responded at 2:15 p.m. to a call of a dog bite by the pit bull.
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| Brody, a Great Dane/Lab mix, was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy who claimed the dog lunged at him during a dog bite investigation. (Photo courtesy of Rosanna Padilla Rockoz) |
Deputy Freddy Perez said no one answered his knocking at the Rockoz house. The Sheriff’s Department’s press release stated, while knocking on the front door, two dogs rushed the deputy, who felt cornered on the porch as “the dogs lunged aggressively towards the deputy.” The deputy shot at the dogs, but did not think he hit them, as they both immediately ran away.
A dead black and white dog report was made later, just houses from the first incident. The dog’s owner could not be found and the Rockoz family still had not returned home, so the deputies remained with the deceased dog for about two-hours until Animal Control arrived to pick him up.
That evening, “Brody’s” owners turned to Facebook.com, complaining about the shooting of their family pet because their dog didn’t match the description of the biting dog since their dog is a Great Dane/lab mix with short black and white hair.
They stated the deputy was trespassing on their property when he “shot and killed the wrong dog,” since their dog was on their property when it was shot. They stated on Facebook, “Brody didn’t have an aggressive bone in his body,” posting pictures of Brody with their young son as proof.
Animal Control charged the family $700 to claim Brody’s body and a fund has been set up at Doggie Styles 23833 Lake Drive in Crestline by Lyle DeVore to help the family pay for the retrieving fees and for burial costs.
Animal Control also stated that Brody was already under investigation for previously biting a neighborhood kid. Neighbor Karen Jennifer Zavala stated, “Those dogs used to chase me on my runs on that street. They were very aggressive.” Other neighbors concur.
A full police report is forthcoming. Rosanna Padilla Rockoz told The Alpenhorn News she is awaiting the report before going forward with any actions against the Sheriff’s Department, but wants the deputy to know he’s “changed our lives forever by shooting our family member on Christmas Eve. They haven’t even said they were sorry, only that it was “unfortunate.”
Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Gil Flores stated, “The biting dog in question was with the dog that was shot. Both charged the deputy. The dogs were acting out of instinct and the deputy protected himself.”
On Facebook, hundreds of comments were shared. Some saying the dog was doing his job by protecting his property while the owners were away. Other criticized those who allow their dogs out of fenced yards.
Others state it is Animal Control’s fault because they are the ones responsible to respond, armed with the proper equipment to quarantine biting animals and they refused to arrive, as they often do up here.
Others said sheriff‘s deputies’ job is to protect citizens from dogs that attack, so they should not have been called in this case, but must to protect themselves. Flores said, “People understandably get upset during these situations and see things differently.”
(alpenhornnews.com - Jan 8, 2016)
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