Clayton --------------------------------------------------------- After reading your April 30 article "Troopers defend fired patrol dog handler" I was shocked, angry, sickened and deeply disgusted. If Highway Patrol Sgt. Charles L. Jones would treat an animal that he professes to love with such brutality, what could we expect him to do to a citizen that angers him in the field? What is even more shocking is that other troopers defended Jones and his actions. The dog training tactics described in the article are cowardly and immoral and reflect the same mentality that allows a wife beater or child abuser to blame their victims for being abused. What initially appeared to be a case of a lone offender, who was understandably fired, now seems to be a reflection of the entire Highway Patrol dog training program. I was relieved to see the May 1 follow up article reporting that the program was being reviewed. These egregious practices need to be stopped and a complete overhaul of the training program needs to be instituted. Still, I am left with a lingering question. Can you retrain these troopers to understand the abuse of power they exhibited in their previous training? Will they learn that control through fear and intimidation is not an effective method with people or animals?Debbie Durham
Raleigh --------------------------------------------------------- Trooper Jones thinks that instilling fear in his canine companion will cause the animal to obey, but you only get from the animal what you put in. This tactic will cause the animal to develop fear and contempt for its handler. Those who support this type of training should be given their walking papers as well, or better yet, a dose of their own medicine!My father worked for the Department of Correction for 30 years and trained and handled many police dogs. He never kicked, choked or suspended his dog off the ground. The dog was trained with dignity and respect with lots of praise for success. When the dog failed to perform, my father simply worked with him more. When he had completed his training my father had a companion that responded instantly to his commands, and was willing to lay down his life for the safety of my father, without hesitation. This was not so much because of his training, but rather because my father trained him without abusive tactics.Frederick E. Taylor
Zebulon --------------------------------------------------------- I have a black lab. This breed is commonly used to assist the blind. My dog was so obsessed with the game of fetch and taking every item in our home and making it her toy that I am confident she would have endangered a blind person if she were a guide dog. She wouldn't have been chosen because of her temperament. Ricoh, the Highway Patrol dog, is probably a wonderful dog. He clearly was not meant to be a police dog. All of the abuse in the world will not turn him into a good police dog. It will only turn his trainer into a monster. The monks at Newskete have the best and most well-known German shepherd training program in the world. They have trained the best dogs in the world, and never kicked one of them.If the police don't know how to handle a dog without abusing it they should not have dogs. Isn't that the law anyway? Mary Carey
Chapel Hill --------------------------------------------------------- The video of the state trooper kicking his canine 'partner' makes me sick! I resent having to pay the salary of any state employee who mistreats another living creature. Thank God the Highway Patrol will not be working with dogs in the near future. There are humane, established national guidelines for working with canines in law enforcement.Hopefully the Patrol will learn better techniques for management of its employees; both two-legged and especially four-legged. Kicking a dog is never an acceptable training method. Maybe some of the officers who can't keep their pants zipped should be kicked instead! Polly E. Moore
Durham --------------------------------------------------------- Sgt. Charles Jones said, "There is nothing that I did to that dog that prevented that dog from doing its duties ... there's no abuse." Maybe the sergeant should ask himself how he would like it if someone suspended him by his neck and then kicked him several times.His treatment of this dog, who might well could save his life at some time in the future, is cruel, macho and ineffective to boot. Any experienced dog trainer will tell you that treating an animal like this will not only warp its temperament but will also make it undependable. It also saddens me to see the Highway Patrol's reputation sullied by this kind of behavior on the part of one of its troopers. But more than anything else, I am saddened that anyone finds it necessary to treat a helpless animal so callously.Mary Cook
Cary --------------------------------------------------------- It would be an understatement for me to say that I was nothing less than sickened and infuriated by Trooper Jones' treatment of his dog in the much (over)publicized video. The most disturbing part of this whole thing is that other troopers actually came to his defense, saying that it is common practice to mistreat and abuse loyal animals like this.How can I possibly have respect for the Highway Patrol, knowing many of its members think it's OK to abuse animals that have no choice but to work for them?I have two dogs of my own, whom I love dearly. They are obedient and respectful, only because I have trained them in a loving, respectful and humane manner .I would rather die than to consider treating them the way Jones treated his "friend."If you cannot train animals without being abusive, then don't use animals. It only tarnishes law enforcement agencies] image as "public servants" otherwise.Anna Turnage
Raleigh --------------------------------------------------------- Just how does one become a dog trainer for the Highway Patrol? Judging from the comments in your April 30 article, actually understanding dogs is not a requirement. One trainer was quoted as saying" these are powerful, dangerous animals..." -- seems like he must be referring to the trainers, not the dogs! I am a female, surely not as strong as these men, and owner of a Rottweiler that I have never hit or kicked and yet can get him to do whatever I want, including "release." I am not a "trainer," just someone who loves my dog and took the time to teach him what I want from him.These men have no business being in charge of dogs or anything else. Perhaps the Highway Patrol might want to get a few people who don't think that force and punishment are the only way to teach a dog. My experiences proves otherwise.Lesley Warren
Raleigh --------------------------------------------------------- I am shocked and disgusted by these allegations of animal abuse from an organization that is supposed to "protect and serve". That obviously includes animals, because it is a felony to abuse law enforcement animals. So why are other officers coming forward and saying that this horrible practice is part of "normal training procedures"? There needs to be a major investigation of this matter, not just here but maybe in the entire country. I have lost much faith law enforcement due to this atrocious situation. Hilda Keller
Apex --------------------------------------------------------- The technique used by Sgt. Charles Jones and the justification as expressed by Lt. Don Cole's testimony are not acceptable. These methods seem to be old school. Other police agencies and professional K-9 training schools have found more intelligent and effective means to establish the trainer as the pack leader of a dominant dog. It's time North Carolina agencies modify their methods to be less cruel and macho. Maybe a visit by Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, is in order. Louise Guardino
Cary --------------------------------------------------------- Former State Trooper Jones' behavior toward his K-9 partner was inexcusable and firing him was the right decision. If he would do such a thing to a dog, just imagine what he might do to a citizen who angered him.I'm not a big fan of anyone being fired, but this fellow deserved it and he should definitely not be reinstated. For a very long time, the State Highway Patrol was a model for law enforcement agencies, and troopers deserved to be looked up to. I'm not so sure how much that is true in recent times, with all the scandals.Lee Douglas
Cary --------------------------------------------------------- Unlike Highway Patrol Lt. Don Cole, it is mind-boggling to me the details that have been uncovered in the investigation of canine training by the Highway Patrol. It does not rest well with me that barbaric training tactics are allowed simply because that's the manner in which the handlers were trained or that's the way training has been done in the past. It is not surprising that formal training policies do not exist describing the "hanging and kicking" reprimand. Of the recent scandals that have plagued the patrol, it seems this is one of the most disturbing. The victims of this abuse have no voice, and seemingly only one advocate who refused to be tight-lipped no longer. Shame on Sgt. Jones and all the other trainers that have openly admitted, with somewhat boastful pride, that they abused their partner. And shame on all those involved that have watched in the past and not voiced their disgust. Poor Ricoh. How unimaginable for him and any other working dog to have endured what has been discovered. Perhaps he was difficult to train. Possibly he wasn't suited for law enforcement service at all. It would have been more humane for the animal and safer for the public to release him from service rather than force him to be obedient through this horrific and abusive treatment.Donna Gray
Fuquay-Varina --------------------------------------------------------- Former Sgt. Charles Jones, who allegedly strung up and kicked his assigned police dog, Ricoh, during a training session, should be kept off the Highway Patrol, and criminal charges against him should be investigated. Abuse of a law enforcement animal is a felony offense in North Carolina. The connection between animal abuse and interpersonal violence has been well-documented for decades. The very idea that a perpetrator of animal abuse may be reinstated to a position of authority that also involves carrying a firearm frankly frightens me. If Officer Jones is allowed to resume his career in law enforcement it will be an egregious miscarriage of justice, and it will be a slap in the face to animal welfare advocates across the country. There is no "gray area" here.Molly Stone
Animal Behavior Specialist, SPCA of Wake County Raleigh
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