An animal rescue organization shared an online petition seeking justice for two dogs who were killed in London.
PAWSsion Project, an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehoming strays, joined in solidarity with other pet lovers who posted about the deaths of two American Staffordshire terriers Marshall and Millions.
The two dogs were gunned down by several members of the Metropolitan Police (Met), the police force in Greater London, in response to a report that they were allegedly out of control.
Their owner identified as Louie Turnbull is also facing dangerous dog offenses.
Witnesses and footage of the incident, however, tell a different story. The dogs who were on leashes appeared to be shielding Turnbull who was being confronted by seven cops.
Video clips of the tragedy have also since circulated across the internet.
A rescue dog handler named Sadie Geoghegan-Dann took the initiative to launch a petition via Change.org to hold the Met officers accountable for their actions.
PAWSsion Project on May 17 joined her in this campaign.
In its post, the organization shared a heartbreaking poem titled “Good Boys” that briefly narrates the sad fate of Marshall and Millions. It was written by Marion White.
Part of it reads:
“Why did they kill us, there really was no need,
They murdered us for no other reason, than we were both a bull breed.
But we’re both in heaven now, there’s lots of dogs & toys,
And God has gave us belly rubs, and told us we’re both ‘Good Boys.’”
PAWSsion also included a tribute artwork and the link to the petition in its post. It used the hashtag #justiceformarshalandmillions in its post. The tribute artwork was made by Jerson Velarde Chavez.
The post has since garnered 64,000 reactions, 2,000 comments and 34,000 shares on the platform.
Pinoys’ reactions, tribute
In the comments section, voiceover artist Inka Magnaye joined in the call for justice for the dogs.
“Animal Cruelty needs to be punished to the full extent it can be punished. No one should be above the law. I would punish them all myself if I could. In the same way, any animal abuser hurts any animal,” Inka said.
Artists Arkitekyuklid and Chavez also posted tribute artworks for Marshall and Millions on their Facebook accounts.
As of writing, the petition has 843,389 signatures of the target 1 million.
What the cops said
In a statement, a spokesperson for Met said that the officers were only responding to the two dogs who “posed a significant threat to them.”
“Officers attended the location where the aggressive behavior of two dogs was of considerable concern and posed a significant threat to them. A man was arrested in connection with the incident for having a dog dangerously out of control and assault offenses. He has been taken into police custody,” the spokesperson was quoted in a report as saying.
Based on reports, the Met officers responded to a cry for help from a woman who claimed she was attacked by the terriers.
The woman suffered a leg injury but did not require hospital treatment.
Turnbull, meanwhile, pleaded not guilty before the Thames Magistrates’ Court of his charges.
He will appear at the Snaresbrook Crown Court on June 6.