Police Officer Shot and Killed a Dog in Wheat Ridge Colorado

Monday, September 1, 2025, around 9:45 am, an officer from the Wheat Ridge Police Department in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, shot and killed a pet dog. That dog’s name was Boss. He lived near a highway exit with his owner, Dave, who is experiencing homelessness.

I learned about the case on Friday, September 5, 2025, from my veterinarian, who provided veterinary care for Boss.

I looked into the case because Boss’s life matters. He lived and died in my community, and that matters to me on both small and big scales. Unfortunately, Boss is a painful example of something that’s shockingly common. Police shoot and often kill dogs more frequently than you might think.

So, in Boss’s memory and to tell a story that, so far, no other local media has covered, I’m writing about some really difficult things. This is long, but I hope you will read it and share it.

Boss’s Back Story

Dave found him abandoned, tied to a bike rack in the rain at a gas station. He stayed with Boss for 3 days outside that gas station in Arizona where he’d been living for several months — even though he’d planned to move on the day Boss showed up and even though a worker at the gas station had called animal control. Dave believes Boss would have been euthanized, rather than adopted, if he’d been picked up by animal control.

He fed Boss with food he found in the trash. When Dave finally unhooked the leash after earning his trust, Boss ran right at him, playfully.

Dave says, “I told him that he could be part of my family if he chose to, but that his people had ditched him… On that third day, he came up and gave me a hug, randomly. I gave him the choice, and he took it.”

Dave and Boss were together pretty much 24/7 after that. They lived together for 3 years, including most recently here in Colorado for a couple of years.

Obviously, Boss’s death has been devastating for Dave. I’m sure that everything now feels utterly impossible.

Everyone at the veterinary clinic felt shocked and heartbroken by the news, too. Every patient is important. Every single patient is loved by their people (and often by the veterinary team). They, and others who knew Boss, told me that Dave probably took better care of Boss than he does of himself.

Tough Story to Tell

I could approach this story in many different ways, and I may end up writing several articles, with additional context or possible rants, including about how different dogs and different people get treated. (I am a dog attack survivor myself who has been chased and threatened by loose dogs many times in our rural / mountain community.)

For now, though, let’s look at some of the information I gathered from:

• The original statement from the Wheat Ridge Police Department
• Answers to questions emailed to me by the department’s public information officer
• The police report, including one photo I specifically requested of Boss’s collar at the scene of the shooting
• Insights from local community advocates
• Input from veterinary experts I often contact for help understanding things
• The introduction Dave wrote for a GoFundMe he set up to help pay some of the paperwork costs for the lawsuit he’s filing with the help of a lawyer, working pro bono. He has met his goal for that, but I’m sure he would appreciate additional help if you want to donate.
• Answers via text messages from Dave

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Questions and Answers About Local Police Shooting Boss

Where did the shooting happen?

It happened near the Youngfield Street / 32^nd Avenue exit on I-70, close to Dave’s tent and other belongings that he says were “at least 15 feet from any public place where someone would be walking.”

Is this a dangerous area?

In my opinion, no.

For context, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, is a western suburb of Denver. Its population is 31-32K or so people.

My grandparents lived in Wheat Ridge, so I spent much of my childhood there and in nearby towns. It’s not far from where I live now.

I don’t know the crime stats, but I don’t think it’s a dangerous area. I meet friends and family at local restaurants. I shop at some of the local stores. The new hospital where I had a second ankle surgery a year ago is right there, too. I don’t feel unsafe there.

That said, another officer from the Wheat Ridge Police Department shot and killed a person in this same general area in July 2025. The person had a felony warrant. The shooting happened after a foot chase and a struggle. The person died at the hospital.

Why was the police officer there, near Boss and Dave’s tent?

The officer, working solo, was looking for someone else “with active warrants that was known to frequent the area.”

The other person was never located. The warrants were for theft / shoplifting at the nearby grocery store.

Those details make me assume that the person in question is also likely experiencing homelessness.

Was Dave there when the shooting happened?

No. Dave had gone to the nearby grocery store to get breakfast for Boss.

There were no other people in the area at the time of the shooting who might have known Boss or been able to speak up for him, protect him, calm him, etc.

How did Boss react to the officer’s presence?

Understandably, I think, Boss reacted as if an intruder entered his personal bubble of safety.

The officer’s written report says the following: “I was approximately 10 to 15 feet away from the tent when a large white dog exited the tent. The dog appeared to be about 70 pounds…  The dog began running at me. I was surprised and frightened. While the dog was running it was barking, growling, curling its lips back and showing me its teeth. I began to step backwards as fast as a [sic] I could and drew my pistol. I stated, ‘Woah!’

“Based on my training and experience, I am aware that I have arteries throughout my body, to include my hands and arms. I perceived the dog as an imminent threat, and I was afraid that the dog was going to bite me, potentially causing serious bodily injury and/or death if I were to be victim of an arterial bleed from a dog bite.

“The dog got within about 3 feet of me, growled, and lowered its body to ground [sic] as if it was going to lunge at me. Due to a very quick radpidly evloving situation [sic], I did not consider using a lower level of force, nor did I have time to transition to another force option. I fired 3 shots at the dog.”

NOTE: The description continues, but the details are graphic and upsetting, so I did not include them. Also, I’m not confident that the estimate of Boss’s weight is accurate.

How fast did the encounter happen?

Based on a body cam video review described in the police report, the officer wrote, “From the moment the dog exitted [sic] the tent to the time I shot it, [sic] was about 3 seconds.”

Was Boss leashed or tethered?

Yes, he was.

However, the police department’s original statement says that “an unsecured dog emerged from the tent.”

That’s the first discrepancy I tried to figure out. Honestly, I worried that I would need to request / pay to get the body cam footage. Not that I wanted to see it, but I thought it might be the only way to know for sure the accurate answer to that question. Thankfully, the police report offers some clarity, so I didn’t need to see the video footage and risk the trauma of that.

The officer who shot Boss wrote this about the initial encounter: “I saw the dog was wearing a collar, but I did not see a leash attached to the dog’s collar.”

And, then later in the report, the officer wrote this about the scene after the shooting: “I looked at the dog and noticed it’s [sic] collar on the ground next to it, no longer around its neck. Attached to the collar, laying [sic] in yellow and green brush and tall grass, was about a 5-foot dark colored leash. Attached to the 5-foot leash was what appeared to be about a 30-foot cable like leash [sic] with a green rubber or plastic jacket. The cable leash was attached to a cart with wheels.”

So, the report, it seems, confirms that Boss was secured. Not loose.

Did the leash or collar break?

Yes, the collar broke. I believe it broke because of at least one of the bullets. It seems to me that it broke because of the shooting, not before.

After the shooting, the police documented Boss’s collar on the ground near his body. That’s the photo I requested. I won’t share it here because you can see blood and Boss’s feet in the photo. It’s pretty upsetting to see.

In the photo, the collar is open, not a complete circle. I only see half of the latch, the side that the other half clicks into. I don’t see the other side of the latch. The leash is still attached to the D-ring on the collar.

Supporting the idea that the collar broke, the police report includes notes from another officer who was driving nearby, heard the gunshots (though didn’t realize that’s what it was at first), heard the first officer’s radio report about shooting the dog, and was first on scene. That second officer wrote that while taking photos, “I noticed the collar for the dog was not attached to the dog and looked to have been broken off at the plastic clip.”

Another entry in the police report from another officer on the scene after the shooting also mentions that the collar appeared to be broken. It goes on to say that Dave “…stood at one point, holding the dog’s collar and yelled at [sic] that all the officer had to do was step back because the dog was leashed with a cable to the ground. David pulled on the leash / cable forcefully to show the leash could hold back significant weight.”

I asked the department’s public information officer if one of the bullets broke the collar, causing it to fall off. The emailed reply said, “I can’t say definitively.”

How many times was Boss shot?

According to the police report, he was shot 4 times in total.

The report says the officer fired 3 shots. According to the department’s public information officer via email, all 3 shots hit Boss —

• 1 in the neck
• 1 in the back
• 1 in the shoulder

Because Boss was suffering, the officer got permission from a supervisor to euthanize Boss with an additional shot to the head.

Note: I updated this answer about 20 minutes after publishing based on on a text message from Dave. The police report says 4 total shots. Dave’s text message says he counted 5 shots when he saw Boss’s body afterwards.

Why didn’t they euthanize Boss another way?

I asked about access to euthanasia injections, and the public information officer replied via email as follows: “Our Community Services Officers have access to euthasol, which is locked in a secured area at our department. Our CSOs only use this for euthanizing wildlife and wouldn’t use it for domestic animals.”

Was this considered an appropriate use of force?

Yes, according to the police department’s public information officer.

“The use of force review into this case was closed on Tuesday, 10/21. The Chain of Command found Officer [name redacted] acted within our policy and the use of force was justified.”

Was Boss aggressive or reactive / fearful?

Probably reactive and fearful, but to people with less experience around reactive dogs, it looks like aggressive behavior and gets reported as such.

The initial statement from the police department says, “Our officers are trained to deal with aggressive dogs and encounter them on a regular basis. Wheat Ridge PD Community Services Officers have had encounters with this dog and its owner in the past and have always proceeded with extreme caution due to the aggressive behavior of the dog.”

In the photo I have of Boss, provided to me by a community advocate who brings food to Dave once each week, he’s wearing a “give me space” type vest, which is common for reactive dogs who are wary of strangers and need more space between them and people they don’t know. That amount of space varies by dog and based on other environmental factors.

Having had a dog-reactive dog in the past, I understand it better than others.

I suspect that reactivity is not unusual for dogs experiencing homelessness with their people. It seems likely that some people they encounter come with nefarious intentions. It seems likely that Boss perceived the officer’s approach as a threat.

Are there veterinary hospitals nearby?

The 24/7 emergency hospital we use is about 3 miles from the location of the shooting. Online maps say about a 10-minute drive at most.

There’s also a general practice just over a half mile from the location of the shooting.

Our own general veterinary practice is a few miles west of the location of the shooting.

There may be others, but those are the ones I know.

Could veterinarians have saved Boss?

Probably not.

I asked my go-to emergency / critical care veterinarian about canine survivability from gunshots, and she replied: “The gunshot wound question is hard. I would have to look to see the published literature as well. The challenge is that most of the bad ones are not going to survive to get to the hospital because we don’t have EMS in the field stabilizing them like we do humans. If you make it long enough to get to a vet hospital, most likely your injuries aren’t that bad, and your chances are probably pretty good. Luckily, I have seen less than a dozen gunshot wounds in all of my years, and almost all lived. Most of those were accidental.”

Side note: Some of those accidental shootings were by people trying to shoot animals attacking their dogs. They ended up shooting their own dogs instead. For what it’s worth, the same is true for pepper spray. People and their own dogs often end up injured by the spray as well.

What happened to Boss’s body?

According to the police report, Dave “was allowed to say goodbye to his dog on scene.”

In response to demands by a community advocate, the police department paid for Boss’s private cremation through the local animal shelter for which I volunteer as a dog / puppy foster mom.

What about help for Dave?

The original statement I received from the public information officer says, “Our department got in contact with the dog’s owner and offered resources and services through our partners at Victim Outreach Incorporated.”

The police report includes notes about Dave at the scene of the shooting, saying he didn’t want “papers on how to grieve,” which I think is understandable. 

I tried several times to contact the victim’s outreach group by email and phone to find out what support is available or what was offered, but I was never able to connect with anyone there. I tried again this week, leaving a voicemail message, so if I hear back, I will add those details.

Why aren’t you naming names?

You’re right. I do not name the officer who shot and killed Boss. That’s on purpose. I’m not here to dox anyone.

I also never named the manufacturer of the rabies vaccine that ultimately killed our original canine heroine because I felt that all vax manufacturers would have treated us the same. For me, it’s both the individual and the whole.

In this case, the officer’s name matters and also sort of doesn’t for our purposes here — to learn about Boss’s death so that we collectively can better advocate for dogs where we live.

Police shootings of dogs are prevalent, especially in disadvantaged communities such as people experiencing homelessness. This is bigger than it seems, which is why I will likely continue writing about it.

Yes, in my opinion, the individual officer is responsible for Boss’s death. Full stop. At the same time, the officer is part of a larger system and police culture that results in dogs being killed — a lot.

In my opinion, it isn’t either / or. It’s both / and. You knowing the name doesn’t change anything.

How common are police shootings of dogs?

This ASPCA article about a 2021 U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee report that urged data collection on police killings of dogs notes that “Police shootings directed at pets escalate encounters with policed communities and erode trust in law enforcement.”

The ASPCA article goes on to say this: “Incidents involving officer shootings of pets often account for a significant percentage of the total firearms discharges in a police department or agency — between 25–75% of police shootings from some municipalities were directed at family dogs.” [emphasis mine]

As an example, this report published by the National Sherrif’s Association says that  “A five-year period in Colorado saw 30 dogs shot.”

The report goes on to explain that “After a spate of dog shootings, Colorado adopted a law (SB 226) in May 2013 mandating a minimum of 3 hours of training for police in dog behavior and ‘body language.’ They must also ‘be trained in non-lethal methods of handling non-violent calls to allow dog owners or animal control professionals the chance to safely secure the dog.’”

What else are you looking into?

I likely will report on any future legal developments now that Dave has a pro bono lawyer.

I’d like to find actionable advice for people on how to keep their dogs safe during encounters with police.

I want to dig more into data about police shooting dogs and look for examples of how different departments try to avoid or de-escalate situations with dogs. I know I saw one recently on social media, but I need to dig for it.

I’m trying to find comparable cases where a regular person shot and killed a dog they felt was threatening them. I want to see how those legal cases were handled. I would guess it’s quite different when someone isn’t in law enforcement. I haven’t figured out yet where or how to look for similar cases.

I may contact aggressive dog experts about the description of Boss’s behavior to see what they think. I’m also curious about any insights they have about the behavioral needs of dogs living in homeless conditions. I did contact the Street Dog Coalition, which happens to be based in northern Colorado, to see if they had any resources for people to help them and their dogs during encounters with police. They did not have anything to share.

Final Thoughts

Oh, this whole situation sucks in ways I can’t even describe, and I describe things for a living. I will never forget it.

Still, the difficulty I feel writing about Boss being killed can’t compare in any way to the devastation Dave is feeling and the effect of this experience on his life every day and in the long term. It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

Even as someone kind of famous for writing about pet loss, I cannot think of a single thing I can say, do, or recommend Dave do to work through the trauma of this tragic loss. I believe Dave will survive this experience, but I also know that he’s deeply and forever changed by it.

What haunts me …

On top of the gunshots themselves, especially the final one to Boss’s head, here’s what haunts me.

All this happened in just 3 seconds.

3 seconds to assess Boss’s behavior

3 seconds to determine (wrongly, it appears) if Boss was tethered

I have friends and family in law enforcement and other first-responder roles, so I think I understand a little bit about how the pressures and often negative encounters add up over time.

Yet, I’m still surprised how quickly the officer drew a weapon.

That, combined with the other shooting nearby a couple months before, makes me think that the police go into this area expecting something bad to happen. Maybe they expect that always? Maybe because of the spot’s proximity to the highway? Maybe because of the increased homelessness in the area? I don’t know.

When pals, especially younger ones, need a friendly ear as they navigate life’s ups and downs, I often tell them that very few things are irreversible. This is not one of those things. Boss is dead. There’s no fixing that.

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Other Notes

I could not get access to the full police report until after the use-of-force investigation was complete. So, I didn’t get the report until October 22, 2025. I paid $15 for it. With so many other things going on, it took me a while to wade through everything.

I wanted to write about this for one of my major, national veterinary magazine editors, but the team there felt the topic was too dark.

I also contacted a publisher who specializes in topics around homelessness, but I did not hear back, which is pretty common for a cold pitch.

So, I decided to write about it here since it’s already been 3+ months, and no other local media is covering the story.

Also, the notation [sic] means that any spelling or grammatical errors come from the original source documents, not my mistakes.