Policeman of fered to finish off pup hit by car ‘with a shovel’
THE cute labrador puppy with her trusting brown eyes was the last thing Bill Mulholland bought for his family before his death from lung cancer.
So his family were devastated when 16-month-old Poppy was badly injured in a hit-and-run incident.
But their sadness turned to fury when a police officer called to the scene of the accident offered to put the animal out of her misery by hitting her on the head with a shovel.
The family have now won an apology from Police Scotland’s professional standards department for the ‘insensitive’ and ‘inappropriate’ comments.
Mr Mulholland’s widow Pauline, 66, said she was sickened by the officer’s comments.
Mrs Mulholland, who lost her husband in August, said: ‘The male officer who arrived said they were only here because someone hit Poppy and drove off without reporting it.
‘I asked him what should I do. He said, “The only thing I could do for the dog is put a towel around its head and hit it with a shovel”.
‘I was totally disgusted by his comment. It was the callous way he said it. He had a grin on his face. It’s not something he should have done.
‘We only buried my husband a few weeks ago. It was the last thing he bought for his family, so she really means a lot to us.’
Her daughter Debbie-Louise, 29, added: ‘Those were his exact words. The fact that he would have the audacity, you can tell that he was not an animal lover.
‘We received a letter of apology, but the officer has not apologised in person.’
The accident happened after Poppy ran out of the family home near Airth, Falkirk, late on Monday evening last week.
The beloved pet survived the accident and is now awaiting further treatment for the multiple fractures she sustained. But her owner fears she may lose a leg.
Mrs Mulholland said: ‘Poppy managed to get out of the back door and on to the road. We didn’t see it, but she must have dragged herself all the way across the road because we saw the trail of blood.
‘She was bleeding from her eyes and nose and her mouth and we didn’t think she was going to last long.’ Mrs Mulholland has since received a letter from the police offering ‘sincere apologies’.
It said: ‘The officer has since been made aware via his supervisor of your concerns about his insensitive and inappropriate comments.
‘I wish to offer you my sincere apologies for any distress this matter caused you.’
A spokesman for Police Scotland confirmed that officers were investigating the hit-and-run incident and that a complaint was currently being investigated by the Forth Valley Police Division.