Outrage in small Missouri town as cop shoots and kills tiny blind, deaf dog Teddy that he was called to help after ‘mistaking it for a stray that needed to be put down’

A small town in Missouri is in turmoil after a local police officer fatally shot a blind and deaf dog after mistaking it for a stray.

Tiny 13-pound Shih Tzu mix Teddy was tragically shot on Sunday in Sturgeon, a town of just 900 residents, leaving owner Nick Hunter furious.

On footage from KOMU As Hunter confronted police officer Myron Woodson, the emotional animal lover said, “Was my dog ​​a threat to you or anyone else?”

Woodson was reportedly called to the scene to help Teddy after the dog got lost, and initially told Hunter he believed the dog was an injured stray that needed to be put down.

But at one statement from the city of Sturgeonseemed to change the story as it was said that Woodson also feared Teddy was infected with rabies and shot the pet to avoid being bitten.

The shooting occurred after Teddy allegedly walked into a neighbor’s yard, with the neighbor saying the dog had been in the sun for about 45 minutes and licked her hand.

The neighbor, who remained anonymous, called the police to eventually retrieve the dog from her yard and find the owner.

But within minutes of Officer Woodson arriving, the officer shot the dog twice, killing the beloved pet on the spot.

Hunter told the WashingtonPost that he found out his five-year-old dog was dead through a phone call, which he said left him in “disbelief.”

“I was shocked and in tears trying to figure out if it was really my dog ​​that had been shot by an officer or if a mistake had been made,” he said.

The owner added that after meeting the disabled pooch, he “instantly fell in love with his bubbly and playful personality,” adding, “He was so small you could hold him in one hand.”

Hunter told the outlet he was considering legal action over the shooting, and was seen in footage confronting Woodson.

“Was my dog ​​a threat to you or anyone else?” He said in a shaking voice, baffled as to how the little deaf, blind dog could have caused the reaction.

Woodson replied, “I see a dog walking around blind – I don’t know if the dog is blind.”

While reportedly saying he thought Teddy should be put to sleep, Hunter wondered, “So you’re putting him out of his misery?”

‘What should I do?’ Woodson responded, noting that the small Missouri town has no animal control.

“I don’t like shooting dogs,” the officer added.

Amid the outcry from Sturgeon residents, the city released two statements, including one insisting the officer “acted within his authority” after reviewing the body camera footage.

But locals say they are still disturbed by the shooting on a residential street, with the owner of the yard where Teddy was shot sending a letter to the city demanding Woodson be removed from office.

The letter also emphasized that the dog did not pose any threat, and that Woodson fired his weapon multiple times while “neighbor children were playing (in) the side yards and my family was within close distance.”

The resident added that their 17-year-old daughter witnessed the dog being killed by Woodson.

In its initial statement the day after the shooting, the city of Sturgeon claimed that Woodson believed Teddy was rabid and feared he would be bitten, despite the officer allegedly not making these claims at the scene.

“The SPD officer also noted that the animal did not have a collar or tags. The SPD officer made numerous attempts to capture the dog using the catch pole,” the statement said.

“Based on the behavior the dog exhibited, believing that the dog was seriously injured or infected with rabies, and because the officer feared being bitten and becoming infected with rabies, the SPD officer felt that his only option was to put the animal to sleep. ‘

The city admitted that “it was later learned” that Teddy’s behavior stemmed from the fact that he was blind, and that “the animal’s lack of a collar or tags influenced the SPD officer’s decision to euthanize the animal because he thought the animal was injured. sick and forsaken.’

In a follow-up statement Thursday, the city said it reviewed Woodson’s bodycam footage and determined he “acted within his authority based on the information available to him at the time to protect himself from potential injury to civilians.”

“To better equip officers to handle future animal response to major calls, the city will send all officers to Boone County Animal Control for training and education in the hopes that this unfortunate situation does not occur again,” the city added.

Local resident Regina Adams-Miller told KOMU she was outraged after hearing about the incident, and was especially disturbed by the officer who fired his weapon on the quiet residential street.

“What if we had kids playing outside?” Adams-Miller said.

“It’s scary, I don’t think the community feels very safe with him. And I think I can speak honestly for most of the community, not for everyone, but for most.”

She continued, “If [the officer] is afraid of a little 13 pound blind and deaf dog, or a 12 pound dog, what is he going to do, you know, to our community, to our children.”