Adam Lovell, who owned the deceased dog, has yet to receive results from the police department's internal investigation of the incident.
By Jill Replogle
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March 7, 2011
Two months after his pet dog Chloe was attacked by an off-duty San Leandro Police dog, Adam Lovell is still waiting for answers: Why did it happen? And how does the department plan to prevent a similar incident in the future?
"I'm not doing anything until [the police department] decides what they're doing from their investigation," Lovell said when asked whether he planned to sue the City of San Leandro over the incident. However, Lovell may not get his answers.
The San Leandro Police Department has concluded its internal investigation of the incident, according to Lt. Jeff Tudor. However, the department won't be releasing the results to the public, which is standard practice in personnel investigations, Tudor said.
He declined to say whether the department would make any changes regarding its handling of police dogs as a result of the incident.
Lovell's dog Chloe, a Finnish spitz, was attacked by the SLPD dog, a German shepherd named Arago, while both dogs were being walked on a trail near Brentwood the day after Christmas, 2010. Police dogs are assigned to specific officers, who generally board the dogs at their homes.
Tudor said police dogs are "essentially that [officer]’s pet when they’re off duty."
Officers selected to be canine handlers sign contracts outlining their duties in terms of caring for and handling the assigned dog, Tudor said. These duties include "basically having control and maintaining control of the dog on and off duty," Tudor said.
When the attack on Lowell's dog occurred, the wife and mother-in-law of officer Kevin Hackl, who boarded Arago, were walking the dog on leash on a trail near their home. Lovell said he had Chloe on a leash when he crossed paths with the group.
Lovell said he was walking with his body between Chloe and the two women when Arago broke free of his handler and attacked Chloe, locking his jaw onto the smaller dog's hindside. Lovell said one of the women yelled, "I can't control him."
Lovell took his dog to an emergency veterinarian, who stitched up the wounds and sent her home the following day. The next day, however, Chloe died. The vet told Lovell the dog died from trauma, Lovell said.
Lovell said he requested the incident report from Contra Costa County Animal Services last week, but was told it would take a few weeks, even though an SLPD officer who took a statement from Lovell over a month ago had a copy of the report at the time. Animal Services was closed on Monday and could not immediately be reached for comment.
"Everything's just in their favor," Lovell said.
Lt. Tudor declined to say whether or not the dog attack involved a violation of the department's policy regarding the handling of police canines, but said the department was evaluating measures to avoid a similar tragedy in the future. "It was an unfortunate incident, and we’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again," Tudor said.
Arago is still on the job.