Yes, I was a bit torn by that as a dog owner, however ACC Tom Richards said in the interview that it was carefully considered and family also agreed but there was an alternative available if needed.
In some ways if it was my wife / mum etc that was murdered dog I'd probably agree, I want to do absolutely anything to help with the police.
Some people have said the dog looked unhappy, reluctant and pulling away on the lead - my dog would do the same if a stranger tried to walk it on a lead anyway. Plus I think people it knew where nearby, ie the husband so it would just want to return to them, I don't think it was necessarily the trauma of walking the same route.
In fact I think my dog wouldn't have even gone with somebody else without a fight. True story, my dog (Border Collie) escaped with a neighbours (German Shepherd) dog that was on heat and ran off to local fields where there was a police dog training centre. The police found them and called me. They said my dog was biting them when they were trying putting a lead on him so I had to come immediately to catch him, very embarrassing.
