The Nation - News from Oct. 19, 1987

Two dogs mating near a runway at Forbes Field in Topeka, Kan., were shot to death last month by security officers who feared the dogs might run onto the pavement and pose a danger to a plane carrying President Reagan. The incident has prompted letters of complaint to the White House, and threats on the life of the man who ordered the dogs killed. Marvin Hancock, deputy director of the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, said airport security officers were combing the grounds Sept. 6 just before Reagan was scheduled to arrive in Air Force One. Reagan went to Topeka for a pre-100th birthday celebration for former Gov. Alfred M. Landon, who died last week. Officers first beat the dogs with heavy welding gloves in order to separate them. When that failed, they shot the dogs, Hancock said.