Oakland cop leaves note after shooting family's dog

OAKLAND, CA (KGO) -- An Oakland family can't believe police shot and killed their aging Labrador retriever "Gloria." They found out what happened when they got home and saw a note on their front door saying that an Oakland police officer had shot and killed her. Now the family is questioning police policy.

The 11-year-old family dog has an entire page dedicated to her in the Hallock family scrapbook. Matthew Hallock picked the yellow lab out of the litter when he was 3 years old because she looked like his beloved teddy bear.

"Just being a presence was important and it made everything complete. Now that she's gone, it's like missing a family member," says Matthew.

Gloria was shot and killed by an officer who responded to the family's home because the alarm system went off.

Officers left a note on the door stating the dog advanced on the officer in a threatening manner before being shot and killed.

"There is no way you couldn't stop Gloria, if you simply drop a doughnut or ham sandwich in front of her," says Ward Hallock.

The family admits Gloria had a loud bark and was territorial about the backyard, but the Hallocks can't believe shooting her was the only option.

"Did you have to go to the revolver first? Was there pepper spray, or mace, or Taser, or baton," asks Ward.

Gloria's arthritis slowed her down, but she always managed to greet the family members at the door. The kids, Isabel and Matthew, are having a tough time with her death.

"I don't think it was necessary, she didn't have to go like this, she was a good dog, she didn't really deserve to die this way," says Isabel.

Ward says he isn't thinking about taking legal action against the police department; he's interested in bringing about a change in police policy.

"We're not here to cause problems for the Oakland police. We're here to cease any future engagements like what happened Tuesday night," says Ward.

The Hallocks are not angry with police, they say they want to work with them. The police chief is already police policy after an officer shot and killed a young deer who was cornered in someone's backyard.

ABC7 called and e-mailed police to ask them about this incident, however we did not hear back from them, but will try back during normal business hours on Friday.