ohmidog!

Police in Commerce City, Colo., are reviewing this video, but say they believe officers acted appropriately when they fired five shots at this dog — even though she was secured with a catchpole.

The dog, a three-year-old named Chloe, described by police as a pit bull, died.

Police had been called by a resident who saw the unfamiliar dog loose in the neighborhood. He was unaware that she was being cared for by a neighbor.

According to the neighbor caring for Chloe, she’d secured the dog in the garage before going shopping. Apparently, the dog tripped a sensor, leading the door to open.

The neighbor who reported the dog to police,  Kenny Collins, said the dog didn’t appear aggressive, but he was concerned about her running loose. It was Collins’ son who used his cell phone to shoot the video of police shooting the dog.

The dog was sitting inside the garage when police Tased her, got a catchpole around her neck and then, as she squirmed to get free, shot at her five times.

“An animal control agent was able to place a ‘catchpole’ around the dog’s neck,” Commerce City Police said in an intitial statement. “The pit bull remained extremely agitated and continued to attempt to attack the animal control agent. Due to the dog’s size and aggressive demeanor, it could not be controlled on the catchpole. For the safety of the animal control agent and the community, a police officer shot and killed the dog.”

Collins said it appeared to him the dog was simply trying to run away from the officers.

“I totally disagree with it, totally,” Collins said. “The dog was not attacking people and that’s not what I said when I called 911.”

Commerce City Police Detective Mike Saunders said the video is being reviewed: “We need time to look at the video. We need time to look over the officer’s report. And we need time to speak to the officer before we can comment.” Saunders said.

9NEWS dropped off a copy of the video at the Commerce City Police station  Sunday.

Alicia Hall, an animal behavior technician with the Dumb Friends League who reviewed the video for 9 News, said:

“The animal could still potentially be a danger, but if the catchpole is being used appropriately, the animal should be restrained safely. As far as I can see from the video, it looks like the dog actually walked right into the catchpole as it was coming out of the garage and was safely restrained.”