*** Updated 8/25 Bear-Bear: a shooting at a Maryland dog park

******Aug. 25 Update

******8/18 Update: Charges have been filed in this case and the owner of Bear-Bear weighs in.

Dog parks usually offer a peaceful respite for dogs and their owners.

But things turned ugly last week at a dog park in Severn in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, where a Siberian Husky named Bear-Bear was shot to death on Aug. 2 by another dog owner, setting off an uproar among humane organizations, park regulars, area residents and community leaders.

Controversy over the case, which this week was turned over to the state's attorney, has sparked websites, petitions, bumper stickers, Facebook pages -- and, of course, a few campaign promises during the ongoing election season.

From the original story that ran in the Baltimore Sun on Aug. 3:

Stunned dog owners and residents of a Severn neighborhood are shocked that authorities won't be charging a federal police officer who shot and killed a Siberian husky Monday night at a community dog park.

Bear-Bear, a brown and white husky that was about 3 years old, was playing in the Quail Run dog park at about 6:30 p.m., running off leash inside the fenced-in area, when the officer and his wife arrived with a German shepherd, who was kept on a leash. When the dogs began to play roughly, the federal officer asked Bear-Bear's guardian, his owner's brother, to call off the dog. But before he could do anything, the officer pulled out a gun and shot Bear-Bear, according to the husky's owner.

Bear-Bear, who belongs to Rachel Rettaliata, died of his injuries a few hours later. County police did not name the federal officer.

 

Since then authorities have agreed to continue investigating the incident and the off-duty officer has been placed on leave. Here's another update. An attorney representing the man who shot the animal says he did so in defense of his pet, his wife and himself.

Just from what I've read so far, if the owners of the German shpherd kept their dog onleash the entire time, that could have contributed much of the trouble.

(And on a related topic, I just heard this morning that a dog fight broke out in the San Pedro dog park last night when a man brought in two intact male pit bulls -- but he kept both on leash after entering the park -- and trouble began when a young husky approached them; fortunately, no serious injuries, but so many of the problems in dog parks stem from owners who are new to the dog park concept and unwittingly behave in ways that set the stage for conflict.)

Update: This apparently wasn't an "official" dog park, but rather an area that is commonly used for people who want to off-leash their canines.

Two Facebook pages (here's the second one) have been launched in support of Bear-Bear's owners and a memorial was held Thursday night. The New York SPCA also says it is "closely monitoring" the case. We'll see how this one plays out. Here's a video interview with Bear-Bear's owners.

For updates, check the Sun's Unleashed dog blog maintained by one of the newspaper's reporters who wrote the story, Jill Rosen.

Blogger Penny Blankenship of Meeshka's World has published an interview with Bear-Bear's owners.