Lily was shot and killed on May 26, 2012, by a Fort Worth police officer who had never received training to deal with his fear of dogs.
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On a May afternoon nearly three years ago, Mark and Cindy Boling were unloading groceries from their truck when a young Fort Worth police officer responding to a nearby burglary mistakenly walked down their driveway.
When the Bolings' 5-year-old border collie, Lily, ran to greet him, the officer pulled out his gun and shot the dog. The Bolings learned later that the officer was afraid of dogs and had never received training to deal with it.
On Friday, the Bolings watched as the Texas House voted unanimously for a police canine training program they have been calling for since Lily was killed.
“My husband and I have devoted every single day to making this legislation happen,” Cindy Boling said.
House members gave preliminary approval to House Bill 593 by state Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, which establishes a statewide training requirement for law enforcement officers to teach them how to deal with canine encounters on the job. The training program requires four hours of classroom instruction on understanding canine behavior, distinguishing between friendly and aggressive dogs and using non-lethal methods to defend against a canine attack.
The measure stems from a rash of dog shootings by police officers in Texas and across the country in recent years. On the House floor, Collier credited the Bolings for inspiring and helping to craft the legislation.
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Some of you also may remember
the very sad story last April about the Texas farmer, Cole Middleton, who was robbed and the cop who came out to investigate shot his dog, Candy, in the back of the head because Candy was barking. Mr. Middleton had to end his dog's life with his own bare hands because the cop wouldn't finish the job. Very troubling situation that should never had happened. Hopefully this program will help prevent future canine shootings from uneducated cops.