Update (1/13/2025, 1:37 p.m.) – According to public records obtained via Missouri Case Net, the owner of the dog, Bobby Sprouse, between June 2023 and November 2024, has been charged with, or pled guilty to, four separate counts of Animal at Large, two counts of Animal Licensing violations, and one count of maintaining a Vicious Animal. Additionally, in January of 2024, Spouse pled guilty to one count of Animal Abuse and one count of Animal Neglect.
According to the Town of Carrollton, Section 205.190, “If an animal is diseased, dangerous, rabid or exposed to rabies and the animal cannot be impounded after a reasonable effort or if an animal cannot be impounded without serious risk to the person attempting to impound the animal, the animal may be killed by any Law Enforcement Officer of the Town.”
Additionally, KMZU has learned that the dumpster, where the dog’s remains were disposed, is located near the city’s animal shelter and is specifically designated for Animal Control use. A call has been made to RTS Waste Services for confirmation and this story will be updated once information is received. The city’s Animal Control Officer was on vacation at the time of the incident.
CARROLL COUNTY, Mo. — Some Carroll County residents are questioning the actions of a local Carrollton Police Officer when a dog was shot to death in response to an aggressive dog call.
According to Carrollton Police Chief Joni Yoder, an officer responded to a local residence around 5:51 p.m. Friday, January 10. When the officer arrived, the dog was acting aggressive to a friend of the dog’s owner, who was asked to “put the dog up”. The Chief further explained that this friend had climbed on top of the police car to get away from the animal. It was at this time the officer saw no other way to subdue the animal and fired a shot.
When asked if the canine was on its own property at the time of the shooting, Yoder’s response was that he is unsure if the dog was in its owner’s driveway or the neighbor’s driveway upon law enforcement’s arrival. He added the department had answered several previous calls about the dog’s aggression, including one where the dog in question had attacked and “put a particular person in the hospital”.
The dog owner’s neighbor, who lives across the street and witnessed the incident, claims she and her husband were in the kitchen when they saw police lights, as well as a spotlight outside her window. Upon inspection, she noticed the animal playing in the snow…”no barking, no growling”. A short time later, she recounts hearing a gunshot, followed by receiving a text message from a neighbor boy asking if “she saw them shoot the dog”. According to her, the dog’s remains laid in its own driveway for thirty to forty-five minutes before it was removed and children were outside, in the neighborhood. “It was very sickening,” she said.
Late evening, the owners asked for the animal’s remains, but the request was denied. Saturday, the responding officer informed the owner that the dog was disposed of in a local dumpster, which was the Animal Control Officer’s recommended disposal site.
KMZU has contacted the dog’s owner, who is not yet ready to speak publicly about the incident.
Chief Yoder does not believe his officer acted in any way that would warrant disciplinary measures regarding this incident. An official written statement is pending from the department.
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