By Sasha Green
Goal: To remove Derek Fierro, a teacher who has been charged with punching his own dog to death, from his teaching position.
A young teacher at a Chicago public school was recently charged with punching his own dog to death in the bathroom of his home. Derek Fierro had adopted Doc, a yellow Labrador mix, as a puppy from the Chicago Canine Rescue Foundation. The two lived together happily for nearly a year before the teacher killed the very animal he had promised to take care of. Doc had apparently refused to get into the bathtub to be washed after soiling himself when his owner lost his temper and punched the dog until he died from his injuries. Derek Fierro was charged with aggravated animal cruelty after turning himself in to police, who found the dog’s body in the trunk of Fierro’s car.
Elementary school students rely on their teachers to serve as positive role models in the classroom every day. We entrust our children to the care and guidance of teachers, which is why we never expect those who lead our classrooms to suddenly become violent criminals. To see an elementary school teacher react to a dog’s misbehavior in such an appallingly violent manner calls into question whether he should be entrusted with young children at all.
While Fierro expressed remorse to police for his crime, he is clearly an unstable individual that should not be trusted around children if he cannot be trusted around animals. Chicago Public School inspectors are currently investigating Fierro’s case to see if disciplinary action is needed. Tell administrators of Field Elementary School that such a violent and uncontrolled individual should never be allowed to teach Chicago’s children.
