Mass animal control officer kills dog he mistook for coyote

A Northbridge animal control officer shot and killed a pet dog Tuesday after mistaking it for a coyotethe police said.

“Unfortunately, this dog looks very similar to a coyote and this was an honest mistake of identity,” Northbridge Police Chief Timothy Labrie said. “Unfortunately, the animal control officer just made a mistake.”

He said the Northbridge Police Department received two separate calls about coyote sightings Tuesday, with a Fowler Road resident calling around noon to report a coyote had come into their yard while they were working outside. An animal control officer arrived at the home and searched the nearby woods for the animal when he heard the resident let out a “blood-curdling scream,” Labrie said.

The officer left the woods and found the alleged coyote, which began to approach him with “nose down, head down, hair up,” the chief said.

“He yelled several times as the animal approached and when he got within 10 feet, the animal control officer shot him and killed the coyote,” Labrie explained. “Upon examination, what he thought was a coyote was determined to be a dog.”

The police department launched an investigation and determined the dog was from a nearby neighborhood, he said.

“The Friday before, we had another coyote sighting and complaint in that neighborhood where a coyote ran up to a guy who was walking his dog,” Labrie said, adding that officials were unable to find the animal in question.

The dog shot and killed Tuesday had a history of escaping “quite often,” Labrie said. Boston News 25 identified the dog’s owner as Kirk Rumford, who said his husky, Odin, was “the friendliest dog”.

“Everyone who met him said he didn’t have a bad bone in his body. He’s just a big dumbass,” Rumford told Boston 25. He did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

Labrie said Tuesday’s shooting was the first case of mistaken identity since the animal control officer started on the job more than two decades ago. The officer will not be punished for the mistake, he said.

“He’s been doing this for 21 years; this has never happened,” Labrie said. “If you pulled up a generic picture of a coyote and I showed you a picture of this dog after the incident, you might think they’re both the same, being coyotes.”

He also advised dog owners to dress their pets in some sort of vest or tag if they are likely to roam the woods, given that hunting season has begun.

---

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work covers public transportation, crime, health and everything in between.

---