MOSES LAKE, Wash. — A Moses Lake police officer euthanized a dog who had been hit by a car Tuesday evening and disposed of its body, according to a Facebook post from the police department.
The Moses Lake Police Department said a 911 call came in at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday reporting a small black and white dog being hit by a car on Stratford Road by Circle K. The caller said the dog was still alive but was moved off the roadway.
According to police, when the officer arrived, he noted that the dog was “severely injured and hurting pretty bad.” The officer made the decision to euthanize the dog and dispose of its body off Road 7 in an area where deceased wildlife is often disposed.
The dog's owner was found shortly after the incident at an adjacent business and was told what happened. The next day, police said an animal control officer responded to Road 7 and retrieved the dog’s body, which was later disposed of properly at the Grant County Animal Outreach Facility.
The department explained in the post that officer respond to these types of calls on a regular basis and most of the time their two animal control officers respond, though they only work from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“In cases where an animal in severely injured and suffering, animal control officers and police officers have the authority to humanely euthanize the animal by using their department issued firearm,” the department wrote in the post. “Officers do not have the training or equipment to use injections such as those used in veterinary clinics. In this incident, the animal was so severely injured that taking the time to attempt to find a veterinarian after hours would have been less humane than euthanizing it.”
The department said when a household pet is killed, the officer’s first action is to try to find the owner and return the pet to them. IF they cannot find the owner, the pet is placed in a plastic bag and taken to the Grant County Animal outreach, where it is placed in a freezer for proper disposal, such as burial or cremation.
MLPD is looking into the incident and “any errors will be addressed and corrections will be made.”
“Understand that our officers are human and occasionally will make mistakes. When those mistakes are made, we will address the issues to make sure they are not repeated,” the post says. “We pride ourselves in the service that we give to this community and its citizens and we will constantly strive to do better.”
