Denver business owner Jeff Fisher took his 8 year old, friendly dog Ziggy to work with him every day. He had raised Ziggy from the age of 6 weeks and considered him a family member and “best friend”.
On Monday night, a pair of Adams Co deputies were responding to an alarm at another address but went to Mr. Fisher’s business by mistake. He says they did not identify themselves as law enforcement but instead forced entry into the business. Mr. Fisher says Ziggy got excited and ran outside, wanting to play. As he turned to come back to Mr. Fisher, one of the deputies shot him. And then shot him again. And then shot him a third time. Ziggy died as a result.
There is a heartbreaking video of Mr. Fisher talking about his beloved pet at the link:
“And I’m yelling ‘You shot my dog. You shot my dog.’ And the police officer says ‘You need to calm down. You can get a new dog,” Fisher said.
Mr. Fisher has an attorney and plans to file a lawsuit.
The Adams Co Sheriff’s office declined to answer questions about the case on camera but told the local news by phone that the office will investigate itself in the matter. The officer who killed Ziggy remains on duty. There is a background story on the officer here.
The Adams Co pound kills healthy/treatable pets according to the Maddie’s Fund stats posted on its website. Citizens with an after hours AC emergency are directed to call the Sheriff’s office. Whether it’s during regular hours or after hours, there appears to be an ongoing emergency in Adams Co – the government doesn’t value the lives of pets.
(Thanks Clarice for sending me this story.)