Man pushes for body cameras for Maury County animal control officers after

COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) — Maury County will soon decide whether animal control officers should wear body cameras after a 130-pound Labrador named Neil died while officers were trying to capture him last month.

Maury County Animal Services dispatched the officers after receiving a call about an aggressive dog. News 2 obtained the recording of the voicemail.

“There is a dog that is harassing the neighbors and they were not able to get out of the car or the house. He’s coming down here because my dog is in heat and I need him picked up,” the caller said. “He’s very dangerous. He’s going to bite one of the children or relatives of mine that come here.”

Neil’s owner, Michael Grieshaber, said while he was sick with the flu, he lost track of Neil, so he called law enforcement and Maury County Animal Services to look for him.

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According to the shelter director for Maury County, Kimberly Raffauf, Neil was wandering the neighborhood for five days.

On Oct. 16, Grieshaber said he received a phone call from an officer who told him Neil had died.

Grieshaber described the phone call to News 2: “The officer called and said that, was that my dog, and for me to call him, and I called him and I said, ‘Aww, don’t tell me somebody shot my…who shot my dog?’ He said, ‘No, he wasn’t shot,’ and then they told me that he was strangled.”

Based on the capture report from Maury County officials, neither of the dog’s owners were home and Neil wasn’t microchipped, so they weren’t immediately able to identify Neil’s owner.

Raffauf said animal control officers put a catch pole on Neil and led him to their vehicle, but they had trouble lifting him since he weighed about 130 pounds.

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“There was a freak accident where the pole tightened, so they were trying to hurry to get him in the vehicle, and [Neil] was working against it,” Raffauf explained.

An animal control officer in training who was on scene said when the lead officer was looking for a way to get Neil into the trunk, she “realized the dog was too calm.” According to the capture report, Neil was “too limp,” and then he went “unconscious.”

After hearing about Neil’s death, Grieshaber said his first reaction was shock, followed by heartbreak.

“He’s big, beautiful, muscular, intimidating looking, but he’s nothing but a big old bear,” he said.

When asked if Neil had ever hurt anyone before Grieshaber said, “Never…I’ve got 12 grandchildren, 10 granddaughters and two grandsons, and he grew up with all of them. He’s never bit anybody, ever.”

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Raffauf told News 2 she terminated the lead animal control officer who was in charge of capturing Neil.

After Neil’s death, Grieshaber donated body cameras to the shelter in hopes animal control officers will wear them. Raffauf said she is in favor of the cameras and proposed the idea at the Maury County Health and Safety Committee meeting. It will ultimately be up to Maury County officials to decide whether animal control officers will wear the cameras.

To cope with the loss of Neil, Grieshaber adopted a German Shepherd puppy from the shelter named Darcy. While she’ll never replace Neil, Raffauf said she hopes Darcy will give Grieshaber and his family some peace and comfort.

“It’s our family, you know?” said Grieshaber. “You could have everything I own, but not my dog. You can have my truck, my house…I just want my dog.”

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