“The natural enemy of the family dog is the local cop. Some of the stories we hear about cops shooting dogs, man, it’s like they don’t even try to deal with the animal reasonably. They shoot first and put the leash on later. I get that some people are just irrationally afraid of dogs, but cops are armed and in stressful situations. And since ‘dog murder’ isn’t really a thing, there’s no incentive for cops to hold their fire. We’ve reported in the past about how jury awards are going up when cops are found to recklessly kill family pets. But money cannot replace the companionship of a best friend. Now, one state is trying to take more decisive action.”
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130405/12115922601/dont-shoot-my-dog-laws-proposed.shtml