The story of a dog’s shooting death at the hands of Austin Police has exploded across Facebook, raising questions about police policy when confronted with animals.

The story was posted to the social site this weekend on a page dedicated to the topic, “Justice for Cisco.” Cisco was the Blue Heeler owner Michael Paxton says was shot down in an incident this weekend.

The description of the incident on Saturday, April 14 is below:

"An APD officer drew his gun on me in my driveway when I came from my backyard to get something from my truck … He was responding to a domestic violence call and came to my address by mistake.

While I was at gunpoint my dog came from my backyard barking at the officer. I yelled for the officer to not shoot my dog, that he will not bite, but the officer immediately shot and killed my dog right in front of me.

I was unable to stop or restrain Cisco because I was being held at gunpoint."

The page, put up only this weekend, has since garnered 11,000 "likes".

APD spokesperson Anthony Hipolito told the Austin American-Statesman that an investigation is ongoing, pertaining to the officer’s discharge of his weapon. The department adds that they are currently setting up a press conference to share details on this weekend's incident.

Demand justice for Cisco, an innocent dog owned by an innocent owner. Join the Facebook fan page here [link]

The contact number for the Austin Police Department is  (512) 974-2000 or (512) 974-5000


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What is AoW?

We are advocates who are for wolves and every other canine. We believe that both wolves and lesser known canines deserve respect and compassion. We are here to stand up for these beautiful animals, along with other people who are trying to do the same. Wolves have been thought of as inferior for many millenia. And as AoW, we believe it's time to shine new light on them. We also believe the same for lesser known canines. If you love wolves, along with underrated canines, and want to stand up for them, join us.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunting and trapping that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months.

The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring.

Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. Wildlife advocates claimed in their lawsuit that Congress violated the Constitution's
separation of powers by interfering with the courts.

But in an opinion authored by Judge Mary Schroeder, the court said Congress was within its rights.

Schroder wrote that lawmakers changed the Endangered Species Act to deal with Northern Rockies wolves, and did not directly interfere with the court's prerogative to decide when the law is being followed.

The amendment marked the first time Congress has forcibly removed a species' endangered status. It was tacked onto a federal budget bill by Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson and Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.

"This case has made it clear that those who persist in trying to manage wildlife through the courts, in spite of all scientific evidence that this species has recovered, no longer have a defensible position," Simpson said Wednesday.

Michael Robinson with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to restore protections, said a Supreme Court appeal was possible but no decision had been made.

"We're very disappointed and very saddened," Robinson said. "Hundreds of wolves have been hunted and trapped and snared, and they are essential to their ecosystem."

He called the congressional budget bill rider that lifted protections "undemocratic" and said that it set a precedent for future political meddling with imperiled wildlife.

Wolves once thrived across North America but were exterminated across most of the continental U.S. by the 1930s, through government sponsored poisoning and bounty programs.

They were put on the endangered list in 1974. Over the last two decades, state and federal agencies have spent more than $100 million on wolf restoration programs across the country.

The Northern Rockies is now home to more than 1,700 wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming and expanding populations in portions of eastern Oregon and Washington. That figure is up slightly from 2010, although Wyoming and Idaho saw slight declines.

In the Northern Rockies wolf hunting is allowed in Montana and Idaho and could resume in Wyoming this fall.

Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin also are considering wolf seasons after protections for wolves were lifted in the upper Great Lakes in December.

Wisconsin's legislature on Wednesday approved a measure to establish a hunting and trapping season that would run from mid-October through the end of February. It still has to be approved by the governor.

There more than 4,400 of the animals in the Great Lakes and a struggling population of several dozen wolves in the Desert Southwest. Alaska, where the animals never went on the endangered list, has an estimated 10,000 wolves.

In parts of Montana, ranchers and local officials frustrated with continuing attacks on livestock have proposed bounties for hunters that kill wolves. Montana wildlife officials said they will consider ways to expand hunting after 166 wolves were killed this season, short of the state's 220-wolf quota.

Idaho allows trapping. Its 10-month wolf season runs until June and has claimed well over 500 wolves so far.

Prior lawsuits resulted first in the animals' reintroduction to the Northern Rockies and then later kept them on the endangered list for a decade after the species reached recovery goal of 300 wolves in three states.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is monitoring the hunts. But agency officials have said they have no plans to intervene because the states have pledged to manage wolves responsibly.

Federal officials have pledged to step in to restore endangered species protections if wolf numbers drop to less than 100 animals in either Montana or Idaho.

Even without hunting, wolves are shot regularly in the region in response to livestock attacks. Since their reintroduction, more than 1,600 wolves have been shot by government wildlife agents or ranchers.

Will these damn lupophobes EVER leave the wolves alone?  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What is AoW?

We are advocates who are for wolves and every other canine. We believe that both wolves and lesser known canines deserve respect and compassion. We are here to stand up for these beautiful animals, along with other people who are trying to do the same. Wolves have been thought of as inferior for many millenia. And as AoW, we believe it's time to shine new light on them. We also believe the same for lesser known canines. If you love wolves, along with underrated canines, and want to stand up for them, join us.