RIP Grizz, the Aviation Security dog shot at @AKL_Airport this morning https://t.co/OX7bZ3siuapic.twitter.com/8On40vmY6f
— Frank Chung (@franks_chung) March 16, 2017
A dog training to become a bomb detector canine was shot dead by the police after running amok at Auckland Airport in New Zealand.
Grizz, a ten-month-old bearded collie, managed to flee from his handlers and caused much disarray at the airport, prompting officials to gun him down.
On Friday, the pooch was set to go through his aviation security explosion detection training, but unexpectedly went berserk and ran out to the airport’s tarmac, CNN reported.
Due to the grim circumstances, 16 flights were delayed, as it took nearly three hours to subdue the rabid dog.
Screen Grab from Twitter/@AKL_Airport
“He (Grizz) was on an initial airport environment socialization program as part of his training,” a spokesman from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told the news outlet. “The airport Emergency Operations Center was activated and a full search was commenced.”
The pup was just six months away from finishing the course, the report said.
Furthermore, the CAA also defended their seemingly rash decision to kill the puppy, claiming they went to great lengths to contain the situation.
“We tried everything, food, toys, other dogs, but nothing would work,” the CAA representative explained.
“In these difficult circumstances, the Airport’s Emergency Operations Center team decided to have the dog destroyed,” he said, adding that that they had trouble handling the situation since the area was too large and dark.
However, the killing was condoned by SAFE for Animals ambassador Hans Kriek, who questioned why officials had to use live bullets instead of tranquilizer darts.
“Ultimately they have to call the police in to shoot the dog, and the police have access to tranquilizer guns, and there’s also a zoo nearby that would have one as well. So we don’t understand why they didn’t do that,” he said.
Meanwhile, “Auckland Airport” became a trending topic online as panicked civilians took to Twitter to describe the unfortunate incident.
As of this writing, airport officials and local authorities are still reviewing the incident. Khristian Ibarrola/JB/rga
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