A Nebraska family is calling for the termination of a Wilber police officer, after shooting and killing their beloved border collie and boxer mix in front of the 13-year-old owner.
The incident took place on Wednesday, when the dog, Todd, got loose in Rania Hagemeier’s family’s backyard after someone forgot to latch the back door.
When the police arrived due to reports of a “dog at large,” the officer cornered Todd in the yard.
The 13-year-old girl, Bree Hagemeier, opened the door to find the officer pointing his weapon at her beloved pet. She screamed at the officer not to shoot, but her pleas were ignored and the officer shot Todd twice- in the head and in his chest.
Todd slumped over on his side and died 74 feet away from where Bree Hagemeier was standing for the first shot, and 63 feet away from where the young girl stood for the second shot.
> “In shooting this dog, he put lots of people’s lives in danger,” the family’s attorney, Dustin Garrison, told the [__Journal Star__](http://journalstar.com/news/local/family-wants-officer-fired-for-killing-their-dog/article_26d90383-126e-5abb-a00a-0e644e52db2b.html). “That bullet could have ricocheted anywhere in the neighborhood.”
Todd was buried with his ball so that the once happy and loving pup can “chase it in heaven.”
> “Todd didn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Garrison continued on to say. “This is simply the result of an overzealous police officer that wanted to use his gun and used it on a dog for no apparent reason.”
The department has been tight lipped about the incident, refusing to answer any media inquiries. It remains unknown if the officer has or will be disciplined for this recklessness and traumatization of a young girl.
Tad Eickman, the city attorney, would only comment that reports have been reviewed and turned over to their insurance policy.
It is estimated that a dog is killed by a police officer [__every 98 minutes__](http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/8203-police-shooting-dogs) in the United States, many of which are beloved family pets.
It is so common, in fact, that there is now even a term for it, “puppycide.”
Incredibly, postal workers, delivery drivers, and repair workers who also encounter dogs on a daily basis seem to have little to no instances of killing man’s best friend.
