A Tennessee sheriff’s deputy arrived at a home to serve a warrant, only for the family dog to saunter towards him from the front porch with a wagging tail as if to greet him.
But at one point, the dog stopped wagging its tail and lunged towards the Cheatham County sheriff’s deputy, prompting him to pull out his gun and kill the dog.
The incident was caught on a home surveillance camera and shared with News Channel 5, which posted the video in its news segment above.
Sadie Bug, a 6-year-old Redtick Coonhound mix, had never bitten a soul, according to her owners, who are considering legal action.
But Cheatham County Sheriff Mike Breedlove said Sadie Bug was a “vicious” dog who left the deputy no choice but to shoot and kill her.
“This dog was vicious, she was trying to bite the deputy. We aren’t out there to hurt anyone, especially someone’s pet… but there was no time to diffuse the situation. By our standard he did, unfortunately, everything he had to do,” Sheriff Breedlove said on Wednesday.
Cheatham County sheriff’s deputy Darrel Hooper arrived at the home of Lori Pardue and her fiancé’s home Wednesday in Ashland City to serve a warrant because the couple were victims in an assault case.
Pardue said that Sadie Dog always had free range of the front yard because not only did the dog never escape, it never attacked or bitten anyone. She even loved kids.
But perhaps Sadie Bug does not like men in uniform. Or maybe she just wanted to play.
It’s difficult to tell from the video, but it doesn’t seem there was a need to shoot and kill the dog.
The sheriff said he does not plan to discipline Hooper but the video will be forwarded to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation who may decide to investigate.
And that does not make Pardue feel any better.
“If he was that aggressive toward my dog, it could happened to somebody else,” she told News Channel 5.
“It’s awful, especially where we don’t feel like we’re a family right now and it’s really really tough,” she said.
