Mass. animal control officer kills dog he mistook for a coyote

Local News

“If you pulled up a generic picture of a coyote and I showed you a picture of this dog after the incident, you would potentially think that they’re both the same, being coyotes.”

An animal control officer in Northbridge shot and killed a pet dog Tuesday after mistaking it for a coyote, police said.

“Unfortunately, this dog looks very similar to a coyote, and this was an honest mistake in 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 that a coyote had entered their backyard while they were working outside. An animal control officer arrived at the home and was searching for the animal in nearby woods when he heard the resident let out a “blood-curdling scream,” Labrie said. 

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

“He called out several times as the animal was approaching, and when it got within 10 yards, the animal control officer shot and killed the coyote,” Labrie explained. “On examining, what he believed 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 had another coyote sighting and complaint in that neighborhood, in which a coyote ran at a guy 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 getting loose “quite often,” Labrie said. Boston 25 News identified the dog’s owner as Kirk Rumford, who said his husky, Odin, was “the friendliest dog.” 

“Everybody that met him said he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He’s just a big goofball,” 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 face punishment 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 would potentially think that they’re both the same, being coyotes.”

He also advised dog owners to dress their pets in some type of vest or identifying marker if they’re prone to roaming the woods, given hunting season has begun.

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