The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A CORRECTIONAL officer’s fatal shooting of a family dog at the end of a funeral procession for a retired canine officer sparked national outrage and debate over the weekend and left veteran Bahamian musician Duke Errol Strachan mourning a pet his daughter gave him.

The three-year-old dog was shot Friday on Mr Strahan’s land on Soldier Road as officers walked in a procession for retired officer Andrew Sears. Video shared widely online shows correctional officers with leashed dogs passing Mr Strachan’s property when two dogs began barking and approached. One officer, who shockingly had his handgun already drawn, quickly discharged his weapon, killing the animal with a single shot.

Mr Strachan has spent decades on the Bahamian music scene. Known as Duke Errol, he formed the Errol Strachan Quintet in 1959, led bands on Bay Street and Paradise Island, opened Edem Music Centre and helped establish what became the National Youth Orchestra.

Now 92, he lamented that his dog was shot while still on his property by what he described as a ‘trigger-happy’ officer.

“I’m annoyed,” he said yesterday. They had no reason to shoot the dog.”

He said he did not hear the gunshot because he was elsewhere in the house. He learned what happened when his wife came to him.

“She said three of the officers came to the door and said, ‘we just shot your dog. We're going to send somebody to move it’,” he added.

When he went to see the dog the following morning, he said, it was already gone.

Asked what explanation he was given, he said: “Because the dog was trying to attack the other dogs, not them. I can understand if the dog was trying to attack them. The dog was barking, not attacking.

“(He) was a great dog,” he said. “He would come to the door every morning, feeding time, look him up in my face until I give him the food.”

He said the officer seemed “trigger-happy.”

As the shooting drew condemnation from animal welfare advocates, the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, which described the incident as ‘unfortunate,’ said officers involved would be interviewed today (Monday). “The Commissioner of Corrections is fully aware of the matter and extends sincere condolences to the family affected. The matter is presently under investigation,” a spokesman said. A statement claimed the two dogs ‘charged at the Department’s trained canines.’

Animal Protection and Control Board chairman and Bahamas Humane Society president Kim Aranha called it “a disgraceful action” and said officers and other uniformed personnel should not be given leeway to shoot dogs.

“You don’t walk around the streets of Nassau with your gun already drawn,” she said. “I mean, what if he tripped and set it off and killed a child?”

“It’s a dark day for The Bahamas,” she added.

She argued that the officers could have continued walking and that the dogs would have remained on their property and posed no threat.

"I'll tell you what the problem is,” she said. “There are so many people who are afraid of dogs in The Bahamas, it's amazing. There's an inborn fear. Personally, I think he shot the dog out of fear.”

She said law enforcement needs better training and respect for animal life.

“They need to respect animal life and stop thinking it's only a dog. They need to have proper training, and they need to not be afraid, and it's very hard to train somebody to not be afraid. If you are afraid, you shouldn't be in a canine unit.”

“I think the government has to stop allowing these policemen and whatever other force, these people in uniform, the leniency to go and kill dogs.”

Lisse McCombe, vice-president of the Bahamas Alliance for Animal Rights and Kindness (BAARK!), said the situation appeared to escalate too quickly to lethal force.

“This video doesn’t just show a dog being shot — it highlights the consequences of poor training and selective enforcement of the Animal Protection and Control Act,” she said.

She said that while dogs should be properly contained by their owners, territorial behaviour is not unusual and can often be managed without a firearm.

The incident has also sparked commentary on enforcing laws requiring owners to secure their dogs. Hours after the video went viral, the Royal Bahamas Police Force released a poster urging the public to secure their dogs, though it did not reference the shooting. Some viewed the timing as insensitive.

Reaction extended beyond advocacy groups. Paige Waugh, granddaughter of Super Value owner Rupert Roberts, said she was saddened and disappointed, calling the shooting a 'disgrace, morally wrong and unethical.’

She said she wrote to National Security Minister Wayne Munroe and Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles demanding the matter be properly investigated.

"May a lot of attention be given to this matter so it doesn't happen again," she said. "To shoot a dog dead like that was totally unnecessary."

The Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, meanwhile, said the animal appeared to charge at the department’s canine unit during the funeral procession.

In a statement, the department said: “The Department of Corrections have value the lives of animals having a fond love for dogs and as such has created a Canine Department where all of the dogs are treated humanely. These canines play a pivotal role in protecting the staff, residents and by extension the society.”

The Department of Agriculture said its Animal Control Unit has spoken with the dog’s owners and collected the animal. Interviews with the officers involved are scheduled as part of the ongoing investigation. Agriculture Director Dr Jason Sands said the department does not condone the inhumane treatment of animals but stressed the need for a proper investigation before conclusions are drawn.