The Pierce County Animal Control’s (PCAC) review of the shooting death of a Newfoundland dog named Rosie by Des Moines police officers in November recommends officers receive animal control training, but did not find anything significantly wrong with how the officers handled the incident.

Rosie was shot by Des Moines police officers after the officers decided all other methods had failed, and that she was a dangerous animal.
Since the incident, there has been a huge public outcry and large amount of scrutiny placed on the Des Moines Police Department.

The city sent the case to the King County prosecutor who found no criminal culpability against the police officers who shot Rosie. The city promised a third part review of the case, which was conducted by Tim Anderson, manager of Pierce County Animal Control (PCAC) and president of the Washington Animal Control Association (WACA). The review by the PCAC is not a criminal investigation, nor was it looking at whether Des Moines policies and protocol had been followed.

The first thing brought up in the report was Rosie’s lack of a collar.

“Unfortunately, Rosie was not wearing a pet license or any other type of identification,” Anderson said in his report. “Such identification could have assisted the officers in locating Rosie's owner and returning her home. Officers attempted to identify the dog and its owner by conducting checks for pet licenses at residences, talking with citizens, and even sending a photograph of the dog to the off duty Des Moines Police Department Animal Control Officer. All attempts to identify the dog were unsuccessful.”

Anderson did say it appeared at least one officer did not know how to correctly use a catchpole, which officers would be trained to use if they underwent animal control training through the WACA.

Regarding the use of tranquilizers, or ‘chemical capture,’ on animals Anderson said he was adamantly against it. He said it requires the officers to anesthetize animals under difficult conditions when you do not know their weight, there is not the benefit of a pre-anesthesia veterinary exam and there is no post anesthesia support available.

“Chemical capture should only be used as a last resort by trained individuals with the appropriate equipment. The use of chemical capture involves a great risk to the safety of the officer, the animal and the public,” Anderson said. “It does not seem reasonable or practical for the Des Moines Police Department to consider this for patrol officers; PCAC would not recommend chemical capture training for patrol officers.”

Anderson said the PCAC does not recommend the use of tasers on dogs for “routine capture.”

“In some circumstances, a Taser application has been used by PCAC to assist in the capture of an aggressive dog, but only when all other methods have failed,” Anderson said.“

In these circumstances it was vital to have an additional officer in close proximity who could quickly secure the dog with a catch pole.

"PCAC is sorry for the loss experienced by the Wright family. The destruction of any animal, while unfortunate, is often necessary to ensure the safety of the public and the officers involved.”

Anderson ended the review by saying, “The above recommendations by PCAC are not intended to second guess the actions of the officers involved. Every incident requires the quick judgment of officers to ensure the safety of not only themselves but the public, and the recommendations outlined above may not have changed the outcome of this particular incident.”

Des Moines Mayor Bob Sheckler has said he wants to look into forming a partnership with neighboring cities to share animal control officers to try and prevent incidents like this from occurring in the future.