Dear Editor,

While I agree 100 percent with Sgt. Wilks of the New Castle Police Department that Ms. Klein’s dog should not have been running loose, I still have some questions.

I’m concerned by Wilks’ statement that a tranquilizer gun was unable to be obtained, either from his own department or the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department. Aren’t these supposed to be standard issue equipment for law enforcement agencies?

If the dog had become vicious, the gun would have rendered it unconscious, and perhaps another solution could have been found.

Does anyone recall the horrible shooting death by police a few years back of the goat running loose in New Castle? That incident would, I should think, have prompted the immediate purchase of a tranquilizer gun for the department.

I don’t understand why pepper spray wasn’t employed. It can render a large individual helpless; surely it would have had the same effect on this dog. Many mailmen carry this spray and have used it successfully against attacking dogs.

Does the NCPD or the town of New Castle have a holding facility for dogs?

This case is like a puzzle with a missing piece. Can Sgt. Wilks supply it?

Susan Mountjoy

Glenwood Springs