Writing to a newspaper to comment on a news article is most out of character for me.

However, having read your story regarding the dog that the police destroyed, I was so outraged I felt compelled to write and give my support to the dog's owner/handler.

I find it unbelievable and completely barbaric that the police should even contemplate destroying a perfectly healthy and intelligent animal who is only guilty of doing what humans have trained him to do.

Obviously if, in the course of his duties, the dog has made a mistake, (something which we humans are often guilty of but it does not result in the death penalty), I can totally understand it would be too much of a risk to carry on using him for police work.

But surely, a much kinder solution would be to retire the animal, even if it meant him wearing a muzzle in public areas.

How can the police justify why the animal should pay with his life for just doing what he has been trained to do?

The notion of destroying this animal in these circumstances is cruel and unthinkable.

We wouldn't treat a criminal in such an appalling way.

-L Munro, Crawley