Dumpy Died ‘Doing His Job, Defending His Territory’

The day after the shooting, Mary Lee Burdett was having trouble accepting the death in her family. Her face still puffy from tears, Burdett said that late Wednesday night she was startled to hear the sound of barking dogs, scuffling, a threatening voice and a gunshot just outside her Brea home.

What Burdett found outside her door was a Fullerton police officer, Ron Gillett, pointing his weapon in her direction. Gillett told her and her husband, Bob, that he was “in pursuit” of a suspect and ordered them back into their house.

Although assured by the officer that her beloved dog, Dumpy, had not been harmed, Burdett soon discovered the animal shot and dying in his doghouse.

The large, mixed-breed Dumpy, Burdett said, was for 10 years considered “a part of our family because we treat our animals like people.”

In addition to two grown sons, the Burdett house and fenced-in grounds are home to one surviving dog, two horses, three cats, and numerous ducks and chickens.

Police said that a burglary suspect spotted inside a ranger’s office in nearby Craig Park in Fullerton had cut across the Burdetts’ backyard on foot. Gillett and a second officer, accompanied by a police dog named Barney, chased the suspect into the yard, where an “altercation” between Dumpy and the trio occurred, Sgt. Rex Stricklin of the Fullerton Police Department said.

Gillett and Barney were bitten, Stricklin said, before the shot was fired. The suspect escaped, despite assistance from Brea police.

The Burdetts say they have doubts about whether the burglar was ever in their backyard but are certain about the way their dog was treated. The police did not offer to take the animal to a veterinarian or provide an escort when they drove Dumpy themselves, they said.

“I think it was their dog they couldn’t control,” Mary Lee Burdett said. “They didn’t fire into the air, they didn’t poke them with their clubs, or even break the dog’s leg. You can fix that. You can’t tell me they didn’t have options galore.”

“We’re very sorry that the incident occurred,” Stricklin said. “It’s a very unfortunate thing.” The Burdetts’ dog, he said, was “doing his job, defending his territory.”

Another Fullerton police sergeant visited the Burdetts on Thursday and dropped off forms for damage claims.

Lt. Bill Lentini of the Brea Police Department said the incident was “a little odd, but not something inexplicable,” and the first of its kind in 15 years. “You can’t blame the dog.”