Worcester

Woman Mourns Dog Killed by Police Officer Neighbor's German Shepherd

Jane Gerhardt is concerned the city won't enforce its policy on dangerous pets after her 12-year-old cockapoo, Cooper, was killed by a German shepherd owned by her neighbor, an officer with the Worcester Police Department

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A Worcester woman mourning her dog, killed by her neighbor's dog, is concerned the city won't enforce its policy on dangerous pets.

Last month, Jane Gerhardt says she took her 12-year-old cockapoo, Cooper, on the same walk she had taken him on for years. The dog was leashed.

A German shepherd owned by her neighbor, an officer with the Worcester Police Department, got loose through a broken fence and attacked Cooper.

"There's just this brown dog who just instantly grabbed Cooper, right on the side, lifted him up, threw him down," Gerhardt said. "It was an unbelievable, horrific, traumatic attack. I've never been through anything like that."

Gerhardt says Cooper was alive after the attack, but severely injured and had to be put down.

The Worcester Police Department confirmed to NBC10 Boston Thursday that the dog's owner is a police officer. Police said the fence through which the dog escaped has been repaired.

Gerhardt says she does not want the dog to be put down, but removed from city limits. The city says the shepherd involved did not have a history with animal control, adding that the dog was quarantined and required to wear a muzzle when out for walks.

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