Demand that the Rogers County Sheriff's Office pay for the medical expenses of Bruno, the German Shepherd they shot unprovoked!

I am not normally one to start petitions, but in this case it really hits home for me. The County Sheriff of Rogers County, Oklahoma, Scott Walton, Was looking for a suspect in a shooting that had happened earlier that day. He came onto the property without permission, as all of the members of the Laymon family were away at church. The officer came onto their property, and encountered Bruno. However, he ignored the canine warning and kept approaching the front door. That's when the family's German Shepherd dog, Bruno, did his job as a family protector, and ran up to the Deputy barking. Despite not attacking the Deputy, the officer "felt threatened" and decided the best course of action was to shoot the 2-year-old dog in the shoulder, instead of using a non-lethal method of restraint, such as a taser or pepper spray. Then, as the dog lay bleeding on the porch of the home, the deputy wrote a note and stuck it on the front door of the Laymon's property that said he had shot their dog. The family returned from the church service three hours later, and the children of the family were the first to find him. In the events that followed, Angie Laymon found the note and, upon reading it, she called the Sheriff's office. It was then she heard what the Deputy claimed happened. This is, a assume, only a part of the conversation she had with them: “He got out of his car and as he came around the side of your Escalade, your dog attacked him.’ She responded to the person on the other end of the line by saying, ‘Did he bite him?’ The person on the other end of the line said, "Well, he felt threatened,” However, the Laymons have video evidence of what happened, and knew that there was no reason for their dog to be shot. On top of that, the officer didn't call for any medical care for the dog, including the people who take care of animals for a living. The family rushed him to a animal hospital, but unfortunately, the bullet shattered his shoulder joint and lodged in his humerus. The doctors had originally planned to try and rebuild his leg with an artificial joint, but the family decided it wasn't a good option. Instead, the dog's front left leg was amputated. Because of this tragic event, Bruno will more than likely have a shorter life span, because even though he is expected to fully recover, he is a German Shepherd, and larger breeds of dogs, with the weight they have to carry being put on only one leg at either end will take a toll. The dog is home from the surgery now, but some worrying things are happening with him. For one thing, he will have to undergo rehab at an animal rehab center, so he can learn to live with only three legs. Also, there are problems with Bruno's mood. For one, the family is having a hard time keeping the pain controlled, and Bruno doesn't want to eat. He isn't interested in anything. He could very well be experiencing depression because of what happened, but one thing is for sure. The family says he is Not even a shadow of his former self. Additionally, if Bruno seems to be suffering when a few weeks has passed, the family has decided that he should be put down. The reason for this is they don't want him to suffer. They said that expenses are not an issue, because they see him as part of the family. However, the expenses are not cheap, even if the family isn't concerned with how much it may cost. At this point, the Laymons have spent about 6,000 dollars for the surgery and amputation. However, they will have to get Bruno's staples removed and, if he improves, go into therapy. The family estimates that the total bill will be at least 12,000 dollars, if not more. Angie has filed a tort claim, but says she doesn't want anything more than "actual expenses out of pocket." So far, the Sheriff's office is denying any responsibility for the shooting, and constantly defends the actions of the Deputy. This is one of the reasons why I am calling for the Sheriff to be fired as well. When he was asked about the situation, he defended his deputy's actions with this statement: “There’s a lot of things that could be asked. Why didn’t he taser him? Why didn’t he pepper spray him? You know, an officer’s weapon was the first thing that he drew and we don’t have time to go through this use of force ladder." And most of the time, he would be right. But when the family has footage proving that there was no excuse for the officer to shoot Bruno, the statement made by the Sheriff is obviously nothing more than an attempt to cover the Sheriff Offices's backside, and try to keep from having to give any money for senseless violence perpetrated by his Deputy.

This is a video that describes what happened in this case (Warning - graphic content)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vogeEi-0jeo

Before I continue, I want to say something that I am sure people are going to bring up if I don't say it. There is one person who came forward to argue that the Deputy was right to shoot Bruno, because he had allegedly attacked her. There are a few problems with this. First of all, I say allegedly because she has refused to tell anyone who she is. She reported the "attack" anonymously, which means there is no way to confirm that this attack ever happened. Second of all, if Bruno did actually attack her, that is no reason to say that the dog deserves to be shot. and finally, the problem with her logic is that if Bruno attacked her, and if he HAD approached the officer in a threatening manner, the Deputy should have used non-lethal methods to detain Bruno. There is no excuse for what happened to Bruno because there is no reason that he should have been shot, period.

Angie Laymon has heard several stories concerning police "defending themselves" against dogs, and while some people are convinced that there is nothing wrong with this behavior, I have to disagree. The fact of the matter is that these pets were members of the family. They were loved by their families and meant a great deal to them. The reason why I am creating this petition is to show police around the country that the first reaction to a dog, be it threatening or not, should not be to put a bullet in it.

They refuse to pay for the medical expenses, despite overwhelming evidence against them. The fact of the matter is, however, that they shot the dog without provocation and they should be held responsible.