Quincy M.E. (1976–1983): Season 7, Episode 23 - Deadly Protection - full transcript
While investigating the death of a child by the family's guard dog, Quincy adopts a dog of his own.
Samson attacked my little girl.
- What?
- Emily is dead.
Aren't these trained
guard dogs usually reliable?
If they're properly
trained, yes.
Why's that dog out of control?
I've never seen
him like that before.
That's what you
said about Samson.
- Listen, my dogs
never killed nobody...
- Get in.
Mr. High-and-Mighty!
Any word on that
runaway Doberman?
I'm gonna make sure that none of
your dogs ever take another innocent life.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
Is it almost finished, Daddy?
Just about.
Why is Samson barking like that?
Well, guess he's just
not used to us yet.
We've only had him for one day.
Besides, that's why we got
him, to be a good watchdog.
Can I try it now?
Yeah, just a second,
let me check this.
Okay. There we go.
Move the ladder.
Wait a minute, I'll
give you a push.
Look at me, Daddy.
Careful, now. Don't
swing too high.
Settle down, boy.
You'll get used to us.
Samson, cease!
Calm down, boy.
Samson, cease!
I'm going inside and
wash up, all right?
- Okay.
- Okay, careful now.
Get away from her!
Oh, my God, no!
She was attacked
by the family dog.
A pet did this?
Look at those lacerations, Sam. It
looks like a pack of wolves got to her.
The arms, the torso, the cervical
region... He really mauled her.
Yeah. What kind of a dog was it?
A German Shepherd.
Yeah. Some of those dogs are
huge and a child's body is so frail.
The greatest damage
is to the throat.
This bite on the left side
of the neck is deep enough
that it probably
lacerated the jugular vein.
Looks like it might have
punctured the carotid artery, too.
Her father is waiting upstairs.
Can you imagine how he must have
felt to discover his daughter like this?
Mr. Stapleton?
Yes.
I'm Dr. Quincy.
I've finished the
autopsy on your daughter.
She died of shock brought
on by severe hemorrhaging
by the trauma of the attack.
Oh, my God. What have I done?
I bought that dog to keep
her from being harmed.
Mr. Stapleton, when
you bought the dog,
were you given any warning that
your family might be in danger?
Were there any precautions
you were supposed to follow?
The guy at the kennel said
Samson would give his own life
before he'd let Emily be harmed.
He said she could pull his
tail, ride him like a horse.
The dog was so gentle, all
he'd do would be lick her face.
As far as I'm concerned,
that man's a murderer.
He killed my little girl,
and I'm gonna make
him suffer the way she did.
Mr. Stapleton, please,
don't do anything rash.
Why don't you go home to your
wife? She must need you now.
I don't have a wife, Doctor.
She died when Emily was born.
I raised that little girl.
So I got no reason to go home.
Let me look into the situation.
I want to check it out with the
Department of Animal Regulations.
All right.
Mind if I stay
here a little bit?
Oh. Take your time.
Hi, fella. How you
doing, little fella?
Come here. Come here, come here.
- Doctor Quincy?
- Yeah.
- Gary Redifer.
- Oh, how are you?
Here's a copy of the autopsy
report on Emily Stapleton,
you wanted it for your files.
Oh, yes. Thank you.
It's a report I wish I
didn't have to have.
Is this an isolated incident?
Aren't these trained
guard dogs usually reliable?
That's a tough question.
If they're properly
trained, yes.
But in the last few years, the guard
dog business has mushroomed.
The rising crime rate
has people scared
so they buy one of these personal
protection dogs, or a fence dog
to patrol a factory or business
at night and think they're safe.
- Like the Stapleton family.
- That's right.
Unfortunately, the booming business
has attracted a lot of irresponsible
and unqualified trainers.
They just abuse the dogs,
train them poorly, if at all,
then sell or rent them to clients
who think they're getting a good dog.
But surely there are regulations,
requirements they have to fulfill?
Sure. But it's
easy to avoid them.
Inside the city limits, the
trainers have to be licensed
but the requirements aren't tough
enough to weed out the bad guys.
They just buy or steal a well-trained
dog in order to pass the test.
Listen, Doctor, I've tested convicted
felons that I knew were unqualified
but because they met the requirements,
I couldn't refuse them a license.
And if they're outside the city limits,
they don't have to have a license.
That's right.
There are only nine licensed
trainers in the city anyway.
But we estimate
there could be 200
unlicensed businesses
operating in the area.
And that doesn't include
the mail-order businesses
that sell dogs all
over the country.
These badly trained dogs,
are they all as dangerous as the
one that killed the Stapleton girl?
You bet. Most of them are
sick, malnourished, badly abused.
Under the existing laws,
a total psychopath can walk
into the dog pound, buy a dog,
kick the guts out of him for a few
days to make sure he's nice and mean,
then turn right back
around and sell him.
There's no telling what a dog like
that might do in a given situation.
It's like a potential time
bomb waiting to go off.
Mr. Redifer, could I see the
animal that killed Emily Stapleton?
The dog is dead,
Doctor. The father shot it.
I didn't know that. I
can understand why.
We've sent the dog's body
to our lab for a post mortem.
I can have the vet send you a
copy of his report, if you'd like.
Yes, I would.
Thanks for everything.
You're welcome.
Hi, fella. Hi, fella.
How you doing, sweetheart?
Mr. Redifer?
Yeah, baby. Yeah, yeah.
What's gonna happen
to this little guy?
This is his last day with us.
I'm afraid he'll be
destroyed tonight.
Somebody drop something?
Why is everybody on the
floor and not in their positions?
Quincy, what is that
animal doing here?
Would you believe,
he followed me home?
Oh!
They were gonna destroy
him. I couldn't let that happen.
- You mean that's your dog?
- Yeah.
Ah! What is your
dog doing in my lab?
Well, I couldn't
leave him on the boat,
there's nobody there.
He'd be alone all day.
Look, Quincy, I love dogs.
I have two dogs myself.
Of course, my dogs
are dogs, you know...
That's just why I
had to adopt this dog.
Dogs like that and pretty ones, they
can get adopted, but this poor fella.
Quincy, the point is, I do not allow
my dogs to visit me here at the office.
But you have Louise to take care of them!
What am I gonna do, hire a dog sitter?
Well, or get married
and give it a home!
But that's where the dog
belongs, Quincy, at home.
Enjoy him, but at home!
Yes, Sir.
Dr. Quincy, why don't you
let me take the little fella?
- Oh, thanks, Pete.
- Okay.
Hello, this is Doctor Quincy
at the Coroner's Office.
Is Mr. Stapleton there?
No, he's not. This
is the housekeeper.
- Any idea when he'll be back?
- No, Sir.
He went out to the kennels
where he got that terrible dog.
- When did he leave?
- About 20 minutes ago.
- And what's
the name of the place?
- Snyder Kennels in Sunland.
Thank you very much.
Mom, Dad's back!
Hey, Robby. How
you doing, son, huh?
- Hi.
- How are you?
Did you bring me a present?
Did I bring you a present,
now, is that the only reason
you're glad to see me back, because
you know I'll have a present for you?
No, Dad. Honest.
- You've been
looking after things?
- Uh-huh.
That's good. I see the
place is still standing.
- Wanna take this for me?
- Sure.
Hi, hon.
Mmm.
Hey, I've been gone two whole
days. Aren't you glad to see me back?
There's someone
inside to see you.
Is something wrong? Who is it?
You better talk to him.
I'll make some coffee.
Mr. Stapleton, it's
nice to see you again.
Something wrong?
You don't know?
I've been out of town the last couple
days. Is there some problem with Samson?
Yesterday, Samson
attacked my little girl.
What?
Your dog leaped out of his
pen and went after Emily.
Mr. Stapleton, there must
be something wrong here.
She must have provoked
the dog in some way.
She didn't provoke the dog. She
didn't do anything to the damn dog!
If I could just talk to her...
Emily is dead.
Can I help you?
I'm Doctor Quincy from the Coroner's
Office. Is there a Mr. Stapleton here?
Yes, there is. He's
inside talking to my...
Get your hands off
me. Please! Please!
I'm gonna take you apart
with my bare hands, Snyder.
- You're gonna pay
for what you did!
- Please, Mr. Stapleton...
Jay, this won't solve anything.
Stapleton, please!
You haven't heard
the end of this.
What is this? Has he gone crazy?
That's right, Mr. Snyder,
that man is crazy,
with grief.
He just lost the only thing
in this world he cared about.
I came here because I
knew how upset he was.
I didn't want him to do
anything he'd regret later.
But I'm putting you one
warning, Mr. Snyder.
I know all about
dog trainers like you.
I'm going to see
to it that you are
prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.
I'm gonna make sure that none of
your dogs ever take another innocent life.
Yeah, Charlie, I hear you
but I still think it's a cop-out.
Your viewers have a right to
know about those guard dogs.
Now, why don't you
bring a crew down here?
We'll film something
for the evening news.
Thanks for nothing.
That about the Stapleton child?
Yeah. The news media doesn't think
the guard dog problem's really a problem.
Oh! You made this, didn't you?
Yeah, I got in early today.
How come? I thought we
were pretty well caught up.
We are but, uh...
I had something special
I had to do. Come here.
Come on. Just come here.
Uh, you see or hear
anything out of the ordinary?
Um, like what?
Well, everything seems
normal, doesn't it?
Mmm. Well, except you,
Quince. What's going on?
Ta-da!
It's my hiding place
when Asten's around.
He wanted me
to hire a dog sitter.
Oh, that's great.
What if he barks?
That's why I came in early.
I had to put special material on the
sides. It's guaranteed to absorb sound.
It's Asten proof.
Quince, I've worked
here for 10 years
and I've never seen
anything that's Asten proof.
Asten.
Quincy, I can't believe this.
Okay, the phone has been ringing
off the hook in the Coleman case.
It's a little embarrassing.
Now, when are you going to have enough
information for the press conference?
A press conference.
Sure, a press conference.
I've been stalling
them for, uh, two days.
I'm running out of excuses.
Well, I think we can handle the
press conference by 11 o'clock.
- We can do that. Can't we, Sam?
- Sure, if you say so, Quince.
Terrific! You've made my day.
Oh! Oh.
- By golly, maybe you're right.
- About what?
I think it is Asten-proof.
So, in conclusion,
there were eight stab wounds in
Mr. Coleman's chest and abdomen.
We seem to be dealing with
a very unusual weapon here.
So, we're running
microscopic studies
on the tool marks left in
the ribs and costal cartilage
to try to get a better determination
of the type of weapon it was.
Are you saying the police don't
have the weapon in their possession?
Charlie, that's a police matter.
I have no comment
to make on that.
You'll have to talk to
Lieutenant Monahan about that.
All right.
Charlie, I wanted to talk to you about
the improperly trained guard dogs.
Now, I told you
this morning, Doctor,
we might do something on
that later but, please, not now.
Dorothy, you owe me. Fred?
Yes, Dr. Quincy?
Look, all of you, I'm talking
about a growing menace,
one that has already
claimed an innocent life.
Now, as crime increases,
more and more people will
be resorting to guard dogs
and we're gonna see serious
injuries and even more deaths.
It's not only your job,
it's your duty to warn the public about
guard dogs that aren't trained properly.
They have to be made aware
of the fly-by-night operators
who function without control.
Are you talking about the Snyder Kennels,
the people who sold Mr. Stapleton his dog?
Charlie, I don't want you to point your
finger at any group or individuals, yet.
And the rest of you, I just want you
to tell potential buyers of guard dogs
to thoroughly check the credentials
of the kennels they deal with.
And I want you to put
our legislators on notice
that we need strict legislation,
whether it be state or national
to establish the
qualifications of trainers,
to make licensing of their
businesses mandatory,
and to police their operations and see
that all of these requirements are met.
Get out here. Come on, girls.
Here we go, come
on. Atta girl. Heel, heel.
Come on, heel. Here we go.
Hey, hey, hey. What
are you doing here?
I brought the dogs.
Oh, yeah, well, I'm afraid I
won't be needing them anymore.
Oh, I see.
This wouldn't have anything to do with
the 11 o'clock news last night, would it?
Listen, I like you, Mike,
but if you were me, wouldn't
you be a little scared?
Have my dogs ever scared you at
all or anybody else who works here?
No, of course not but I can't
afford to take any chances.
One accident could wipe me out.
Listen, bill me for
a full week, okay?
Ah, forget it. Consider last month
free to make up for the risk you've taken.
Come on, girls.
Well, what are you doing
here, as if I can't guess?
Just showing my
babies the fence-line.
That's the first thing you do
when you take over a new location.
Are those things trained at all?
You know better than to
ask a question like that.
What does it consist of? A couple of whacks
over the head with that piece of rope?
- Listen, my dogs
never killed nobody...
- Get in.
Mr. High-and-Mighty!
Mr. Great Dog Trainer!
I guess you won't be able to report me
to the Animal Regulation people anymore.
That was getting to
be a bore, ol' buddy.
Hey, if you lose
any more accounts,
just tell them to call me.
I'm in the yellow pages.
Jerk! Come on.
- Who was that?
- Mr. Dragotto.
He brought Caesar back.
I didn't know what to do,
so I just refunded his money.
Why fight it? What's the use?
Get inside. Stay.
You're making this
your fault, aren't you?
We lost the lumberyard.
We can weather it.
Five accounts
since the accident.
We expanded, remember,
because business was so good.
We borrowed a lot of money
and now we're in over our heads.
And the worst part of it is
I don't really blame people
for bringing their dogs back.
I've got blood on my hands.
I can't sleep, I can't eat. I don't
even care about the damn business.
I feel like I've personally
killed a little girl.
It wasn't your fault.
It was just a terrible accident.
You weren't responsible.
How could Samson have turned
like that? I just don't understand it.
He was one of the
best dogs I ever had.
Michael, I've been asking myself
why you're not trying to find out?
Why are you just accepting it?
You're one of the best
trainers in the business.
You've got to do something.
This is gonna stay with
you for the rest of your life.
You'll destroy yourself and
you'll destroy me and Robby.
Yeah?
I'm sorry for butting in. If you
don't mind I'd like to speak with you.
You should have
called first, Mr. Snyder.
- Would you have seen me?
- No.
Well, I figured after the things
you've been saying on TV,
you at least owe me
five minutes of your time.
Okay, Mr. Snyder,
you've got five minutes.
Doctor Quincy, I've been trying to
get controls on my profession for years.
I've got more enemies
than anyone I know,
because I speak out when I
see somebody abusing animals
or ripping off the public with
dogs that aren't really trained.
Then, how do you
explain what your dog did?
I've been going nuts
trying to figure that out.
I guess maybe I was
hoping the autopsy
of Emily Stapleton
might give some clue.
It doesn't.
And it doesn't make
pleasant reading.
There has to be something
out of the ordinary,
some unusual
kind of provocation.
I trained that dog for
three years. He was perfect.
Mr. Snyder, you've
got a minute left.
All right, I'm going to
use that minute to tell you
that you're judging me
without really knowing the facts.
You see, I love those dogs.
Those dogs saved my life.
Dr. Quincy, nothing I
ever did came easy.
I was a street kid, I
grew up in Boyle Heights
and I drifted into more
trouble than I care to talk about.
When I was 16, I was already pulling
time at the California Youth Authority.
After they cut me loose,
believe me when I tell you,
it could have gone either way.
By the grace of God, I
landed a probation officer
who got me a job
working in a kennel.
And the love I got from those animals
pouring out like I couldn't believe,
that's what changed
my whole life.
Suddenly, I was
doing something I liked.
I had a profession, I had goals
and I met a woman who believed
in me enough to become my wife.
We run an honest business
and we have a son who
makes both of us very proud.
So, before you condemn me
or say anything else
that could hurt my family,
at least let me show you how
much I care about what I do.
Raider, heel.
Heel.
Raider, sit.
Raider, stay.
Well, that's how I obedience
train my dogs, Doctor.
Now, we'll show you some
protection and guard maneuvers.
- Come on, Robby.
- Wait a minute.
You're going to let the
dog attack your boy?
Sure. We do it all the time.
That's how much
confidence I have, Doctor.
I want you to watch closely
how steady and under control
the dog remains during attack.
Come on, Robby.
- Ready, Son?
- Sure, Dad, ready.
Okay. Hey, Buddy. Stay where
you are. What do you want?
I'm going to get you and
I'm going to get that dog.
Don't come any closer.
Watch him, Raider.
Out! Out, Raider!
Come on, come on. Good boy
there, good boy, good boy, good boy.
Good boy, good boy.
Good boy, Robby,
good boy, good boy.
- Ah!
- You've got him?
Raider, Raider, yeah!
Well, what do you think?
I see what you mean about
remaining under control.
There was no viciousness
to the attack at all.
Exactly, he was
just doing his job.
He had no feelings
towards Robby, whatsoever.
Good dog.
You see, Doctor, there are three
things that make a good guard dog.
He has to be courageous,
he has to like people
and he can't be
afraid of anything.
All my dogs have those qualities,
including the dog I sold to the Stapletons.
That's why it's so hard for me to believe
that Samson attacked that little girl.
I can't think of anything that would
have caused him to lose control.
What usually motivates
a dog to attack?
Usually it's fear or
just outright meanness.
When a dog fears or hates,
that's when it becomes dangerous.
The kind of animals these
bad trainers are turning out.
They just make the dogs vicious
so they can grab a fast buck.
There's no concern for the animals
or for the people they sell them to.
How did the demonstration go?
Fascinating! Boy, did
I have a lot to learn!
Doctor, would you help me?
I know there has to be a valid reason
why Samson attacked that little girl
and kept after her even
when she was down.
What can I do?
Caesar! Caesar, easy boy! Easy!
Easy, boy. Easy, Caesar.
Easy, boy.
Easy, boy. Easy, boy. Caesar!
Caesar, out! Caesar! Caesar!
Honey, are you all right?
What happened? Why's
that dog out of control?
I don't know what happened.
I've never seen him
like that before. Never!
That's what you
said about Samson.
I don't understand it, I've
never seen Caesar act like that.
He was like a different dog.
You've got a point,
son. Maybe he is.
What?
Robby, run in the house, in my
office, get the file on Henderson.
Okay, Dad.
What are you getting at, honey?
Henderson, the breeder
I bought Caesar from,
he tattoos all his dogs
so they can be identified.
You think that wasn't Caesar?
Right. And we can sure find out.
Holy mackerel!
- What happened?
- Doc, this dog is dead.
A minute ago he
was in such a frenzy!
There's no tattoo on this
dog. This isn't Caesar.
But you're an expert. You're
supposed to be able to tell the difference.
They look almost exactly alike.
These dark-haired Dobermans
are hard to distinguish
and so are certain breeds
of German Shepherds.
Michael, what's going on?
I think someone is stealing our
dogs and substituting look-alikes.
They must have
switched Caesar last night.
You think someone
has the real Caesar?
Yes, I do.
Michael, if you're right, then maybe
Samson didn't kill Emily Stapleton.
I want to do a necropsy on this dog
and find out why he died so suddenly.
Maybe that will tell us
what's going on here.
Asten alert! He's on his way!
Uh, on that Chandler case,
the reading on the
carboxyhemoglobin was 66%.
- That jibe with you, Quince?
- Right on the nose.
Don, let me check
something with you.
You know this file
on the Levy case,
it says the liver section was repeated?
You know anything about that?
No, I don't.
Well, I billed them
for the additional slides
but they say they never ordered
them and don't know why it was done.
But that's not my case, Doctor.
Oh, okay. I thought you might
know something about the slides.
- Quincy!
- Yes, Sir?
Would you come
over here for a minute?
Sir?
What is that?
- What is what, Sir?
- That.
Looks like a dog.
- I know, you told me.
- Yeah.
- That's a dog.
- That's right.
- I know whose dog it is.
- You do?
I thought we agreed we would
not bring our little dog into the lab.
We did but there was
no one to take care of him
and he's no trouble,
he's housebroken,
we have all sorts of fun
with him, we play games...
You know, you sound like a
7-year-old talking to his mother.
- But Dr. Quincy, this is not a kennel.
- No.
This is the County
Coroner's Office.
And we do not bring our little doggie
into the County Coroner's Office.
Now, once and
for all, is that clear?
Oh, yes, it is, Sir. It's
perfectly clear, Sir, perfectly.
Now...
would you mind taking
your dog off my foot?
Yes, Sir.
Good dog, good dog.
Wonder what he'd say if
he knew that you and the vet
were about to do an
autopsy on that Doberman?
A necropsy. Shh! You got
a big mouth, you know that.
You always start by
removing the skin on a dog?
Oh, in a case like this we do.
I want to see if there's
evidence of abuse.
On an animal with dark skin and fur, the
only way to tell is to look under the skin.
You know Dr. Quincy, this is a real
pleasure working under these conditions.
I don't have to bend down,
lots of light, clean, nice lab.
Not like down at the
Veterinarian Service Lab.
Look at the
contusions on his head.
This dog's been beaten
repeatedly and not only just recently.
Now, this brownish-black
discoloration is from old hemorrhage.
These rings of hemorrhage
and edema around the neck
look like what we
find in a hanging.
Exactly.
A lot of times, they hang the dog
with a chain to make them mean.
Mmm. But none of this is
bad enough to cause death.
Let's see what we can find
in the internal organs, huh?
We've got black, tar-like
feces in the lower intestine.
Classic GI bleeding.
Mmm.
Look at that stomach lining.
I've rarely seen any tissue
that swollen and inflamed.
And these ulcerated spots
were pouring out blood.
The stomach contents have a
strange smell. It's almost like gunpowder.
Mmm.
The stomach and intestinal linings of
that Doberman were so badly ulcerated
that it finally caused
massive internal hemorrhage.
That's what killed the dog.
And it was just the same
as the dog that killed Emily,
the same inflammation
and bleeding.
But what caused it?
Gunpowder.
Both dogs had ingested
extremely large quantities.
Why would anyone subject
a dog to that kind of torture?
To make them mean.
It's an old trick that some
unethical trainers use.
They don't give a damn about
what it does to the poor dogs.
I bet you found drugs
in their system, too.
Yes, we did, traces of
PCP and other tranquilizers.
Yeah, that's part
of the procedure.
They get the dogs all
fired up with gunpowder,
then tranquilize them so
they're still manageable.
The dog's so messed up by
then, there's no telling what he'll do.
Easy there, easy baby.
Mr. Michael Snyder?
Yes, that's me.
This is for you.
A summons to appear
in Superior Court
to answer charges in a
case of wrongful death.
So you see, the dogs
were switched in the pen.
The dog that killed your daughter had
been mistreated to the point of torture.
He was crazy with pain
when he attacked her.
Now, whoever did that to the
dog is responsible for Emily's death
but it wasn't Mr. Snyder.
Dr. Quincy, what you're
saying sounds preposterous.
Why would somebody
do something like that?
Go through some elaborate
plan to switch dogs?
For what?
Mr. Stapleton, how much
did you pay for that dog?
$2,000.
That's your answer,
for the money.
Please drop your suit.
You're after the wrong man.
No! My daughter is
dead because of that dog,
because of that man.
Don't you understand?
I've got to do something.
I've got a pain in my
gut that won't go away.
I can't sleep nights thinking about
what I should have done for her,
how I should have
taken care of her.
How do I make the pain go away?
Mr. Stapleton, I can
imagine how you feel,
but don't let your pain make you
lash out and hurt an innocent man.
You want justice, not vengeance.
Shut up in there!
Shut up or I'll give you
what's coming to you!
Shut up!
Shut up!
I gotta tell you, Mr. Whelan, having
that dog around makes me nervous.
I mean, what if somebody
spots him or something?
Listen, that dog's worth a mint.
If I find the right buyer for him,
we're gonna get two or $3,000.
Let's find a buyer, okay?
Hey, it takes time to find a
buyer with that kinda money.
Listen, pal, why don't you
stick to doin' your job, okay?
You got the fence
dogs ready to take out?
Just about.
Okay. Tonight, Prince and Jasmine
go to the Petrie car dealership.
They usually go to that
lumberyard, Gooden's.
Not tonight. We got a new account with
Petrie and I want him to see our best dogs.
Then what do we
do about Gooden's?
We give them Rex and Patsy.
Come on, Mr. Whelan, those dogs
can't do guard duty, they're sick.
Look, we got nobody else.
We picked up so many of
Snyder's accounts lately,
I'm running short of dogs.
Can't we just cancel Petrie's?
I'm in business to make money.
I don't wanna lose Petrie.
He likes us, he has
three other dealerships.
And that is gravy, sport.
Yeah, well, you send Rex
and Patsy to the lumberyard,
you're likely to
lose that account.
Those dogs are in no
shape to stand watch.
Yeah? Well, they will be.
What do you mean?
I mean, we're gonna feed 'em some
of our special pepper-upper food.
Make them nice and frisky, mmm.
Those aren't the same dogs
you brought before, are they?
No, Sir. This is Rex and Patsy.
The other dogs
weren't feeling too good.
They look like they're
ready for anything.
Yes, Sir. They're
good guard dogs.
Make sure nobody
goes back in there, okay?
Nobody needs to go
back until seven tomorrow,
when the morning man opens up.
I'll be back before
seven to get the dogs.
Okay, thanks a lot. Good night.
Blew another hose!
I never saw them coming until
they were almost on top of me.
If I didn't have the wrench in
my hand, I'd probably be dead.
You hit that dog with a
wrench? Is that what killed him?
He dropped like a stone.
Only I was so shook, the
wrench came flying outta my hand,
and then the Doberman
was on me like a ton of bricks
and I tried to hold him
by grabbing his collar but...
- This?
- Yeah.
Snapped off right in my hand.
Next thing I knew, I
was flat on the deck.
A car came by blowing
its horn and he took off.
Listen, come to the
hospital if you want.
Ask your questions there. This
man needs to be transported now.
Okay, take him in.
Man!
Look at this little guy.
If nobody hit him, I
mean, he's so skinny,
I would have sworn
he died of malnutrition.
Where'd you get this animal?
Whelan Security Service.
Oh, man! I might've known.
Hey, what do you want
from me? I'm not a dog expert.
I'm just trying to protect my
yard from gettin' ripped off.
I mean, I hired one
service, his dog kills a kid.
I hired somebody else, his
dog attacks my delivery man.
Let me give you a little
advice, Mr. Gooden.
Before you hire a new service,
do a little research, okay?
Check credentials,
check experience
and check the quality of the dogs
that are supposed to protect you.
So, what do we do about that?
You want me to call Whelan
and have him come pick him up?
No, uh, no. This dog goes to
County Health for a full autopsy.
I'm sure they won't find rabies
but what I'd really like to know is
when the last time was that
Whelan gave him any food.
I've been waiting for
something to nail him with
and now, maybe I've got it.
Doggie? Doggie?
You look like a nice doggie.
Are you hungry, doggie?
Mandy, please!
Get away from the fence.
I was just feeding the doggie.
Yes, I see but we don't
play with strange doggies.
Go on! Scoot! Go back home!
Go on! Scoot! Go on!
Come on, sweetheart,
finish your lunch.
Kennels. Michael
Snyder speaking.
Michael, I'm here with Officer
Redifer of Animal Regulation.
Now, we've been coordinating
our findings on the necropsies
and he just told me something
you should know about.
Hey, Mike. Yeah, a man was
mauled by guard dogs this morning
out at Gooden's Lumber,
on Fifth and Stratton.
That used to be my
account. Whelan has it now.
Yeah, I know.
Uh, Two of his
dogs were involved.
Now, the Doberman got
away but the other was killed.
During necropsy we found
out that the dead dog's body
was loaded with gun
powder and then tranquilized.
According to Doctor Quincy,
the dog you thought was
Caesar tested the same way.
That sounds like Whelan. That's
the way he treats his animals.
And as you know, our
necropsy on the dog
that killed the Stapleton
child showed the same thing,
gun powder and tranquilizers.
So Whelan's been stealing
my dogs and substituting his.
Sick, sub-standard animals
that he turns into killers.
It sure looks that way.
And I'll tell you what else it means. It
means he's got Samson and Caesar.
We're getting a warrant for his arrest. If
your dogs are there, we'll retrieve them.
I'm sorry, Gary, I can't
wait for any warrant.
I'm not leaving my dogs with that
man one second more than I have to.
Hey, Mike... Hey, Mike?
Get over here!
Which one do you want next?
I'm only taking these two. They're
the only ones worth any real money.
You're not going to leave
the rest to starve, are you?
Uh, don't worry, the Animal
Regulation people will take care of them!
They can sell them
for fertilizer for all I care.
Can't we just let them run free?
Listen, I'll tell you
what you can do,
you can stand around here all day
and get yourself arrested if you want to.
Me, I've got other plans.
Get your hands off my dogs!
You can take your dogs
and go to hell, for all I care.
Why don't you take all
the rest of them too, huh?
Samson, hold him!
Samson, out!
If you've been treating Samson the
way you've been treating your other dogs,
I wouldn't move an inch.
Benny, I want you to go inside the
office. There's a .38 in the top drawer.
You get it and I want
you to shoot this dog.
You know something, Dave, I'd
shoot you before I'd shoot that dog.
I'm sick of the way
you treat these animals,
I don't want any
part of it anymore.
So, I guess that's
it, "Ol' buddy."
I guess we just make
ourselves comfortable and wait.
Well, I'm greatly relieved.
After that phone call, I was afraid
you might do something violent.
Dr. Quincy, when you've
got well trained dogs,
you eliminate violence.
804 Control requesting
clearance to Unit 895.
895, Control, come in.
We've made the arrest at
Whelan Security Services.
Any word on that
runaway Doberman? Over.
Nothing yet from any of
our units or LAPD. Over.
Okay, I'll follow the prisoner through
booking then I'll be back in. Out.
Gary, I'll tell you a fast
way to find that Doberman.
How?
Samson. He's one of the
best tracker's I've ever had.
Okay Samson, find him! Find him!
Damn, we may have lost him.
Isn't there anything we can do?
I just hope we
didn't lose the trail.
Come on, boy.
Samson, over there.
I think he's got it.
Don't trip.
Okay, come on.
Look at the way he's acting.
I think we're getting close.
Okay, here you go.
Got it?
Teacher! Teacher!
Oh, my God!
Mandy, don't move.
I didn't do anything
to the doggie, honest.
I know. Don't even talk.
You other children, go back inside.
Tell Mrs. Nichols to call the police.
Come here, boy.
Come over here to me.
Get those kids inside, now!
Man, I've never done that before.
I hope I never have to again.
Things have sure turned
around, haven't they?
How do you mean?
Well, he was supposed to have killed
a child. Instead, he saved one's life.
You're a good dog, Samson.
It's terrible but
it's the truth.
- Better him, than us.
- Oh, yeah.
But that's the way it is because
then he'll be saying it about us.
Excuse me.
- Did you bring
this mutt in here?
- Oh!
Now, watch who you
call "mutt," will you?
This is a thoroughbred.
What are you doing, baby?
Didn't I tell you, I want you to
stay right here and don't move?
He trains dogs
like he picks horses!
Oh, yeah? Sit, stay!
How's that?
Oh, Doctor! Blue
ribbon. You've got it.
You never told me what happened to
Whelan. What did you guys book him on?
We nailed him on a 399.
A felony for
maltreating his animals?
Oh, no, no, no. He switched the
dog that killed the Stapleton child.
So, we're gonna see to it that he spends
some hard time in prison for that one.
Well, he deserves
a nice long stay.
I wish that'd solve the
problem. He's one of many.
Well, as a matter of fact, I think
I've made a little progress there.
I had a meeting with
Senator Kagan this morning.
He's talking about a bill
that'll give us some of the
controls and regulations we need.
Of course, it doesn't go as far as I'd like
to go, but at least it breaks the ground.
Now, if you need any help,
you know you can count on me.
Hey, sorry, I'm late. I had
some work to do in the office.
Oh, that's okay, you've got plenty of
time. We haven't paid the check, yet.
Very funny. You know, the
last time we played poker...
Oh, Quincy!
Again?
- What?
- Emily is dead.
Aren't these trained
guard dogs usually reliable?
If they're properly
trained, yes.
Why's that dog out of control?
I've never seen
him like that before.
That's what you
said about Samson.
- Listen, my dogs
never killed nobody...
- Get in.
Mr. High-and-Mighty!
Any word on that
runaway Doberman?
I'm gonna make sure that none of
your dogs ever take another innocent life.
Gentlemen, you
are about to enter
the most fascinating
sphere of police work,
the world of forensic medicine.
Is it almost finished, Daddy?
Just about.
Why is Samson barking like that?
Well, guess he's just
not used to us yet.
We've only had him for one day.
Besides, that's why we got
him, to be a good watchdog.
Can I try it now?
Yeah, just a second,
let me check this.
Okay. There we go.
Move the ladder.
Wait a minute, I'll
give you a push.
Look at me, Daddy.
Careful, now. Don't
swing too high.
Settle down, boy.
You'll get used to us.
Samson, cease!
Calm down, boy.
Samson, cease!
I'm going inside and
wash up, all right?
- Okay.
- Okay, careful now.
Get away from her!
Oh, my God, no!
She was attacked
by the family dog.
A pet did this?
Look at those lacerations, Sam. It
looks like a pack of wolves got to her.
The arms, the torso, the cervical
region... He really mauled her.
Yeah. What kind of a dog was it?
A German Shepherd.
Yeah. Some of those dogs are
huge and a child's body is so frail.
The greatest damage
is to the throat.
This bite on the left side
of the neck is deep enough
that it probably
lacerated the jugular vein.
Looks like it might have
punctured the carotid artery, too.
Her father is waiting upstairs.
Can you imagine how he must have
felt to discover his daughter like this?
Mr. Stapleton?
Yes.
I'm Dr. Quincy.
I've finished the
autopsy on your daughter.
She died of shock brought
on by severe hemorrhaging
by the trauma of the attack.
Oh, my God. What have I done?
I bought that dog to keep
her from being harmed.
Mr. Stapleton, when
you bought the dog,
were you given any warning that
your family might be in danger?
Were there any precautions
you were supposed to follow?
The guy at the kennel said
Samson would give his own life
before he'd let Emily be harmed.
He said she could pull his
tail, ride him like a horse.
The dog was so gentle, all
he'd do would be lick her face.
As far as I'm concerned,
that man's a murderer.
He killed my little girl,
and I'm gonna make
him suffer the way she did.
Mr. Stapleton, please,
don't do anything rash.
Why don't you go home to your
wife? She must need you now.
I don't have a wife, Doctor.
She died when Emily was born.
I raised that little girl.
So I got no reason to go home.
Let me look into the situation.
I want to check it out with the
Department of Animal Regulations.
All right.
Mind if I stay
here a little bit?
Oh. Take your time.
Hi, fella. How you
doing, little fella?
Come here. Come here, come here.
- Doctor Quincy?
- Yeah.
- Gary Redifer.
- Oh, how are you?
Here's a copy of the autopsy
report on Emily Stapleton,
you wanted it for your files.
Oh, yes. Thank you.
It's a report I wish I
didn't have to have.
Is this an isolated incident?
Aren't these trained
guard dogs usually reliable?
That's a tough question.
If they're properly
trained, yes.
But in the last few years, the guard
dog business has mushroomed.
The rising crime rate
has people scared
so they buy one of these personal
protection dogs, or a fence dog
to patrol a factory or business
at night and think they're safe.
- Like the Stapleton family.
- That's right.
Unfortunately, the booming business
has attracted a lot of irresponsible
and unqualified trainers.
They just abuse the dogs,
train them poorly, if at all,
then sell or rent them to clients
who think they're getting a good dog.
But surely there are regulations,
requirements they have to fulfill?
Sure. But it's
easy to avoid them.
Inside the city limits, the
trainers have to be licensed
but the requirements aren't tough
enough to weed out the bad guys.
They just buy or steal a well-trained
dog in order to pass the test.
Listen, Doctor, I've tested convicted
felons that I knew were unqualified
but because they met the requirements,
I couldn't refuse them a license.
And if they're outside the city limits,
they don't have to have a license.
That's right.
There are only nine licensed
trainers in the city anyway.
But we estimate
there could be 200
unlicensed businesses
operating in the area.
And that doesn't include
the mail-order businesses
that sell dogs all
over the country.
These badly trained dogs,
are they all as dangerous as the
one that killed the Stapleton girl?
You bet. Most of them are
sick, malnourished, badly abused.
Under the existing laws,
a total psychopath can walk
into the dog pound, buy a dog,
kick the guts out of him for a few
days to make sure he's nice and mean,
then turn right back
around and sell him.
There's no telling what a dog like
that might do in a given situation.
It's like a potential time
bomb waiting to go off.
Mr. Redifer, could I see the
animal that killed Emily Stapleton?
The dog is dead,
Doctor. The father shot it.
I didn't know that. I
can understand why.
We've sent the dog's body
to our lab for a post mortem.
I can have the vet send you a
copy of his report, if you'd like.
Yes, I would.
Thanks for everything.
You're welcome.
Hi, fella. Hi, fella.
How you doing, sweetheart?
Mr. Redifer?
Yeah, baby. Yeah, yeah.
What's gonna happen
to this little guy?
This is his last day with us.
I'm afraid he'll be
destroyed tonight.
Somebody drop something?
Why is everybody on the
floor and not in their positions?
Quincy, what is that
animal doing here?
Would you believe,
he followed me home?
Oh!
They were gonna destroy
him. I couldn't let that happen.
- You mean that's your dog?
- Yeah.
Ah! What is your
dog doing in my lab?
Well, I couldn't
leave him on the boat,
there's nobody there.
He'd be alone all day.
Look, Quincy, I love dogs.
I have two dogs myself.
Of course, my dogs
are dogs, you know...
That's just why I
had to adopt this dog.
Dogs like that and pretty ones, they
can get adopted, but this poor fella.
Quincy, the point is, I do not allow
my dogs to visit me here at the office.
But you have Louise to take care of them!
What am I gonna do, hire a dog sitter?
Well, or get married
and give it a home!
But that's where the dog
belongs, Quincy, at home.
Enjoy him, but at home!
Yes, Sir.
Dr. Quincy, why don't you
let me take the little fella?
- Oh, thanks, Pete.
- Okay.
Hello, this is Doctor Quincy
at the Coroner's Office.
Is Mr. Stapleton there?
No, he's not. This
is the housekeeper.
- Any idea when he'll be back?
- No, Sir.
He went out to the kennels
where he got that terrible dog.
- When did he leave?
- About 20 minutes ago.
- And what's
the name of the place?
- Snyder Kennels in Sunland.
Thank you very much.
Mom, Dad's back!
Hey, Robby. How
you doing, son, huh?
- Hi.
- How are you?
Did you bring me a present?
Did I bring you a present,
now, is that the only reason
you're glad to see me back, because
you know I'll have a present for you?
No, Dad. Honest.
- You've been
looking after things?
- Uh-huh.
That's good. I see the
place is still standing.
- Wanna take this for me?
- Sure.
Hi, hon.
Mmm.
Hey, I've been gone two whole
days. Aren't you glad to see me back?
There's someone
inside to see you.
Is something wrong? Who is it?
You better talk to him.
I'll make some coffee.
Mr. Stapleton, it's
nice to see you again.
Something wrong?
You don't know?
I've been out of town the last couple
days. Is there some problem with Samson?
Yesterday, Samson
attacked my little girl.
What?
Your dog leaped out of his
pen and went after Emily.
Mr. Stapleton, there must
be something wrong here.
She must have provoked
the dog in some way.
She didn't provoke the dog. She
didn't do anything to the damn dog!
If I could just talk to her...
Emily is dead.
Can I help you?
I'm Doctor Quincy from the Coroner's
Office. Is there a Mr. Stapleton here?
Yes, there is. He's
inside talking to my...
Get your hands off
me. Please! Please!
I'm gonna take you apart
with my bare hands, Snyder.
- You're gonna pay
for what you did!
- Please, Mr. Stapleton...
Jay, this won't solve anything.
Stapleton, please!
You haven't heard
the end of this.
What is this? Has he gone crazy?
That's right, Mr. Snyder,
that man is crazy,
with grief.
He just lost the only thing
in this world he cared about.
I came here because I
knew how upset he was.
I didn't want him to do
anything he'd regret later.
But I'm putting you one
warning, Mr. Snyder.
I know all about
dog trainers like you.
I'm going to see
to it that you are
prosecuted to the
fullest extent of the law.
I'm gonna make sure that none of
your dogs ever take another innocent life.
Yeah, Charlie, I hear you
but I still think it's a cop-out.
Your viewers have a right to
know about those guard dogs.
Now, why don't you
bring a crew down here?
We'll film something
for the evening news.
Thanks for nothing.
That about the Stapleton child?
Yeah. The news media doesn't think
the guard dog problem's really a problem.
Oh! You made this, didn't you?
Yeah, I got in early today.
How come? I thought we
were pretty well caught up.
We are but, uh...
I had something special
I had to do. Come here.
Come on. Just come here.
Uh, you see or hear
anything out of the ordinary?
Um, like what?
Well, everything seems
normal, doesn't it?
Mmm. Well, except you,
Quince. What's going on?
Ta-da!
It's my hiding place
when Asten's around.
He wanted me
to hire a dog sitter.
Oh, that's great.
What if he barks?
That's why I came in early.
I had to put special material on the
sides. It's guaranteed to absorb sound.
It's Asten proof.
Quince, I've worked
here for 10 years
and I've never seen
anything that's Asten proof.
Asten.
Quincy, I can't believe this.
Okay, the phone has been ringing
off the hook in the Coleman case.
It's a little embarrassing.
Now, when are you going to have enough
information for the press conference?
A press conference.
Sure, a press conference.
I've been stalling
them for, uh, two days.
I'm running out of excuses.
Well, I think we can handle the
press conference by 11 o'clock.
- We can do that. Can't we, Sam?
- Sure, if you say so, Quince.
Terrific! You've made my day.
Oh! Oh.
- By golly, maybe you're right.
- About what?
I think it is Asten-proof.
So, in conclusion,
there were eight stab wounds in
Mr. Coleman's chest and abdomen.
We seem to be dealing with
a very unusual weapon here.
So, we're running
microscopic studies
on the tool marks left in
the ribs and costal cartilage
to try to get a better determination
of the type of weapon it was.
Are you saying the police don't
have the weapon in their possession?
Charlie, that's a police matter.
I have no comment
to make on that.
You'll have to talk to
Lieutenant Monahan about that.
All right.
Charlie, I wanted to talk to you about
the improperly trained guard dogs.
Now, I told you
this morning, Doctor,
we might do something on
that later but, please, not now.
Dorothy, you owe me. Fred?
Yes, Dr. Quincy?
Look, all of you, I'm talking
about a growing menace,
one that has already
claimed an innocent life.
Now, as crime increases,
more and more people will
be resorting to guard dogs
and we're gonna see serious
injuries and even more deaths.
It's not only your job,
it's your duty to warn the public about
guard dogs that aren't trained properly.
They have to be made aware
of the fly-by-night operators
who function without control.
Are you talking about the Snyder Kennels,
the people who sold Mr. Stapleton his dog?
Charlie, I don't want you to point your
finger at any group or individuals, yet.
And the rest of you, I just want you
to tell potential buyers of guard dogs
to thoroughly check the credentials
of the kennels they deal with.
And I want you to put
our legislators on notice
that we need strict legislation,
whether it be state or national
to establish the
qualifications of trainers,
to make licensing of their
businesses mandatory,
and to police their operations and see
that all of these requirements are met.
Get out here. Come on, girls.
Here we go, come
on. Atta girl. Heel, heel.
Come on, heel. Here we go.
Hey, hey, hey. What
are you doing here?
I brought the dogs.
Oh, yeah, well, I'm afraid I
won't be needing them anymore.
Oh, I see.
This wouldn't have anything to do with
the 11 o'clock news last night, would it?
Listen, I like you, Mike,
but if you were me, wouldn't
you be a little scared?
Have my dogs ever scared you at
all or anybody else who works here?
No, of course not but I can't
afford to take any chances.
One accident could wipe me out.
Listen, bill me for
a full week, okay?
Ah, forget it. Consider last month
free to make up for the risk you've taken.
Come on, girls.
Well, what are you doing
here, as if I can't guess?
Just showing my
babies the fence-line.
That's the first thing you do
when you take over a new location.
Are those things trained at all?
You know better than to
ask a question like that.
What does it consist of? A couple of whacks
over the head with that piece of rope?
- Listen, my dogs
never killed nobody...
- Get in.
Mr. High-and-Mighty!
Mr. Great Dog Trainer!
I guess you won't be able to report me
to the Animal Regulation people anymore.
That was getting to
be a bore, ol' buddy.
Hey, if you lose
any more accounts,
just tell them to call me.
I'm in the yellow pages.
Jerk! Come on.
- Who was that?
- Mr. Dragotto.
He brought Caesar back.
I didn't know what to do,
so I just refunded his money.
Why fight it? What's the use?
Get inside. Stay.
You're making this
your fault, aren't you?
We lost the lumberyard.
We can weather it.
Five accounts
since the accident.
We expanded, remember,
because business was so good.
We borrowed a lot of money
and now we're in over our heads.
And the worst part of it is
I don't really blame people
for bringing their dogs back.
I've got blood on my hands.
I can't sleep, I can't eat. I don't
even care about the damn business.
I feel like I've personally
killed a little girl.
It wasn't your fault.
It was just a terrible accident.
You weren't responsible.
How could Samson have turned
like that? I just don't understand it.
He was one of the
best dogs I ever had.
Michael, I've been asking myself
why you're not trying to find out?
Why are you just accepting it?
You're one of the best
trainers in the business.
You've got to do something.
This is gonna stay with
you for the rest of your life.
You'll destroy yourself and
you'll destroy me and Robby.
Yeah?
I'm sorry for butting in. If you
don't mind I'd like to speak with you.
You should have
called first, Mr. Snyder.
- Would you have seen me?
- No.
Well, I figured after the things
you've been saying on TV,
you at least owe me
five minutes of your time.
Okay, Mr. Snyder,
you've got five minutes.
Doctor Quincy, I've been trying to
get controls on my profession for years.
I've got more enemies
than anyone I know,
because I speak out when I
see somebody abusing animals
or ripping off the public with
dogs that aren't really trained.
Then, how do you
explain what your dog did?
I've been going nuts
trying to figure that out.
I guess maybe I was
hoping the autopsy
of Emily Stapleton
might give some clue.
It doesn't.
And it doesn't make
pleasant reading.
There has to be something
out of the ordinary,
some unusual
kind of provocation.
I trained that dog for
three years. He was perfect.
Mr. Snyder, you've
got a minute left.
All right, I'm going to
use that minute to tell you
that you're judging me
without really knowing the facts.
You see, I love those dogs.
Those dogs saved my life.
Dr. Quincy, nothing I
ever did came easy.
I was a street kid, I
grew up in Boyle Heights
and I drifted into more
trouble than I care to talk about.
When I was 16, I was already pulling
time at the California Youth Authority.
After they cut me loose,
believe me when I tell you,
it could have gone either way.
By the grace of God, I
landed a probation officer
who got me a job
working in a kennel.
And the love I got from those animals
pouring out like I couldn't believe,
that's what changed
my whole life.
Suddenly, I was
doing something I liked.
I had a profession, I had goals
and I met a woman who believed
in me enough to become my wife.
We run an honest business
and we have a son who
makes both of us very proud.
So, before you condemn me
or say anything else
that could hurt my family,
at least let me show you how
much I care about what I do.
Raider, heel.
Heel.
Raider, sit.
Raider, stay.
Well, that's how I obedience
train my dogs, Doctor.
Now, we'll show you some
protection and guard maneuvers.
- Come on, Robby.
- Wait a minute.
You're going to let the
dog attack your boy?
Sure. We do it all the time.
That's how much
confidence I have, Doctor.
I want you to watch closely
how steady and under control
the dog remains during attack.
Come on, Robby.
- Ready, Son?
- Sure, Dad, ready.
Okay. Hey, Buddy. Stay where
you are. What do you want?
I'm going to get you and
I'm going to get that dog.
Don't come any closer.
Watch him, Raider.
Out! Out, Raider!
Come on, come on. Good boy
there, good boy, good boy, good boy.
Good boy, good boy.
Good boy, Robby,
good boy, good boy.
- Ah!
- You've got him?
Raider, Raider, yeah!
Well, what do you think?
I see what you mean about
remaining under control.
There was no viciousness
to the attack at all.
Exactly, he was
just doing his job.
He had no feelings
towards Robby, whatsoever.
Good dog.
You see, Doctor, there are three
things that make a good guard dog.
He has to be courageous,
he has to like people
and he can't be
afraid of anything.
All my dogs have those qualities,
including the dog I sold to the Stapletons.
That's why it's so hard for me to believe
that Samson attacked that little girl.
I can't think of anything that would
have caused him to lose control.
What usually motivates
a dog to attack?
Usually it's fear or
just outright meanness.
When a dog fears or hates,
that's when it becomes dangerous.
The kind of animals these
bad trainers are turning out.
They just make the dogs vicious
so they can grab a fast buck.
There's no concern for the animals
or for the people they sell them to.
How did the demonstration go?
Fascinating! Boy, did
I have a lot to learn!
Doctor, would you help me?
I know there has to be a valid reason
why Samson attacked that little girl
and kept after her even
when she was down.
What can I do?
Caesar! Caesar, easy boy! Easy!
Easy, boy. Easy, Caesar.
Easy, boy.
Easy, boy. Easy, boy. Caesar!
Caesar, out! Caesar! Caesar!
Honey, are you all right?
What happened? Why's
that dog out of control?
I don't know what happened.
I've never seen him
like that before. Never!
That's what you
said about Samson.
I don't understand it, I've
never seen Caesar act like that.
He was like a different dog.
You've got a point,
son. Maybe he is.
What?
Robby, run in the house, in my
office, get the file on Henderson.
Okay, Dad.
What are you getting at, honey?
Henderson, the breeder
I bought Caesar from,
he tattoos all his dogs
so they can be identified.
You think that wasn't Caesar?
Right. And we can sure find out.
Holy mackerel!
- What happened?
- Doc, this dog is dead.
A minute ago he
was in such a frenzy!
There's no tattoo on this
dog. This isn't Caesar.
But you're an expert. You're
supposed to be able to tell the difference.
They look almost exactly alike.
These dark-haired Dobermans
are hard to distinguish
and so are certain breeds
of German Shepherds.
Michael, what's going on?
I think someone is stealing our
dogs and substituting look-alikes.
They must have
switched Caesar last night.
You think someone
has the real Caesar?
Yes, I do.
Michael, if you're right, then maybe
Samson didn't kill Emily Stapleton.
I want to do a necropsy on this dog
and find out why he died so suddenly.
Maybe that will tell us
what's going on here.
Asten alert! He's on his way!
Uh, on that Chandler case,
the reading on the
carboxyhemoglobin was 66%.
- That jibe with you, Quince?
- Right on the nose.
Don, let me check
something with you.
You know this file
on the Levy case,
it says the liver section was repeated?
You know anything about that?
No, I don't.
Well, I billed them
for the additional slides
but they say they never ordered
them and don't know why it was done.
But that's not my case, Doctor.
Oh, okay. I thought you might
know something about the slides.
- Quincy!
- Yes, Sir?
Would you come
over here for a minute?
Sir?
What is that?
- What is what, Sir?
- That.
Looks like a dog.
- I know, you told me.
- Yeah.
- That's a dog.
- That's right.
- I know whose dog it is.
- You do?
I thought we agreed we would
not bring our little dog into the lab.
We did but there was
no one to take care of him
and he's no trouble,
he's housebroken,
we have all sorts of fun
with him, we play games...
You know, you sound like a
7-year-old talking to his mother.
- But Dr. Quincy, this is not a kennel.
- No.
This is the County
Coroner's Office.
And we do not bring our little doggie
into the County Coroner's Office.
Now, once and
for all, is that clear?
Oh, yes, it is, Sir. It's
perfectly clear, Sir, perfectly.
Now...
would you mind taking
your dog off my foot?
Yes, Sir.
Good dog, good dog.
Wonder what he'd say if
he knew that you and the vet
were about to do an
autopsy on that Doberman?
A necropsy. Shh! You got
a big mouth, you know that.
You always start by
removing the skin on a dog?
Oh, in a case like this we do.
I want to see if there's
evidence of abuse.
On an animal with dark skin and fur, the
only way to tell is to look under the skin.
You know Dr. Quincy, this is a real
pleasure working under these conditions.
I don't have to bend down,
lots of light, clean, nice lab.
Not like down at the
Veterinarian Service Lab.
Look at the
contusions on his head.
This dog's been beaten
repeatedly and not only just recently.
Now, this brownish-black
discoloration is from old hemorrhage.
These rings of hemorrhage
and edema around the neck
look like what we
find in a hanging.
Exactly.
A lot of times, they hang the dog
with a chain to make them mean.
Mmm. But none of this is
bad enough to cause death.
Let's see what we can find
in the internal organs, huh?
We've got black, tar-like
feces in the lower intestine.
Classic GI bleeding.
Mmm.
Look at that stomach lining.
I've rarely seen any tissue
that swollen and inflamed.
And these ulcerated spots
were pouring out blood.
The stomach contents have a
strange smell. It's almost like gunpowder.
Mmm.
The stomach and intestinal linings of
that Doberman were so badly ulcerated
that it finally caused
massive internal hemorrhage.
That's what killed the dog.
And it was just the same
as the dog that killed Emily,
the same inflammation
and bleeding.
But what caused it?
Gunpowder.
Both dogs had ingested
extremely large quantities.
Why would anyone subject
a dog to that kind of torture?
To make them mean.
It's an old trick that some
unethical trainers use.
They don't give a damn about
what it does to the poor dogs.
I bet you found drugs
in their system, too.
Yes, we did, traces of
PCP and other tranquilizers.
Yeah, that's part
of the procedure.
They get the dogs all
fired up with gunpowder,
then tranquilize them so
they're still manageable.
The dog's so messed up by
then, there's no telling what he'll do.
Easy there, easy baby.
Mr. Michael Snyder?
Yes, that's me.
This is for you.
A summons to appear
in Superior Court
to answer charges in a
case of wrongful death.
So you see, the dogs
were switched in the pen.
The dog that killed your daughter had
been mistreated to the point of torture.
He was crazy with pain
when he attacked her.
Now, whoever did that to the
dog is responsible for Emily's death
but it wasn't Mr. Snyder.
Dr. Quincy, what you're
saying sounds preposterous.
Why would somebody
do something like that?
Go through some elaborate
plan to switch dogs?
For what?
Mr. Stapleton, how much
did you pay for that dog?
$2,000.
That's your answer,
for the money.
Please drop your suit.
You're after the wrong man.
No! My daughter is
dead because of that dog,
because of that man.
Don't you understand?
I've got to do something.
I've got a pain in my
gut that won't go away.
I can't sleep nights thinking about
what I should have done for her,
how I should have
taken care of her.
How do I make the pain go away?
Mr. Stapleton, I can
imagine how you feel,
but don't let your pain make you
lash out and hurt an innocent man.
You want justice, not vengeance.
Shut up in there!
Shut up or I'll give you
what's coming to you!
Shut up!
Shut up!
I gotta tell you, Mr. Whelan, having
that dog around makes me nervous.
I mean, what if somebody
spots him or something?
Listen, that dog's worth a mint.
If I find the right buyer for him,
we're gonna get two or $3,000.
Let's find a buyer, okay?
Hey, it takes time to find a
buyer with that kinda money.
Listen, pal, why don't you
stick to doin' your job, okay?
You got the fence
dogs ready to take out?
Just about.
Okay. Tonight, Prince and Jasmine
go to the Petrie car dealership.
They usually go to that
lumberyard, Gooden's.
Not tonight. We got a new account with
Petrie and I want him to see our best dogs.
Then what do we
do about Gooden's?
We give them Rex and Patsy.
Come on, Mr. Whelan, those dogs
can't do guard duty, they're sick.
Look, we got nobody else.
We picked up so many of
Snyder's accounts lately,
I'm running short of dogs.
Can't we just cancel Petrie's?
I'm in business to make money.
I don't wanna lose Petrie.
He likes us, he has
three other dealerships.
And that is gravy, sport.
Yeah, well, you send Rex
and Patsy to the lumberyard,
you're likely to
lose that account.
Those dogs are in no
shape to stand watch.
Yeah? Well, they will be.
What do you mean?
I mean, we're gonna feed 'em some
of our special pepper-upper food.
Make them nice and frisky, mmm.
Those aren't the same dogs
you brought before, are they?
No, Sir. This is Rex and Patsy.
The other dogs
weren't feeling too good.
They look like they're
ready for anything.
Yes, Sir. They're
good guard dogs.
Make sure nobody
goes back in there, okay?
Nobody needs to go
back until seven tomorrow,
when the morning man opens up.
I'll be back before
seven to get the dogs.
Okay, thanks a lot. Good night.
Blew another hose!
I never saw them coming until
they were almost on top of me.
If I didn't have the wrench in
my hand, I'd probably be dead.
You hit that dog with a
wrench? Is that what killed him?
He dropped like a stone.
Only I was so shook, the
wrench came flying outta my hand,
and then the Doberman
was on me like a ton of bricks
and I tried to hold him
by grabbing his collar but...
- This?
- Yeah.
Snapped off right in my hand.
Next thing I knew, I
was flat on the deck.
A car came by blowing
its horn and he took off.
Listen, come to the
hospital if you want.
Ask your questions there. This
man needs to be transported now.
Okay, take him in.
Man!
Look at this little guy.
If nobody hit him, I
mean, he's so skinny,
I would have sworn
he died of malnutrition.
Where'd you get this animal?
Whelan Security Service.
Oh, man! I might've known.
Hey, what do you want
from me? I'm not a dog expert.
I'm just trying to protect my
yard from gettin' ripped off.
I mean, I hired one
service, his dog kills a kid.
I hired somebody else, his
dog attacks my delivery man.
Let me give you a little
advice, Mr. Gooden.
Before you hire a new service,
do a little research, okay?
Check credentials,
check experience
and check the quality of the dogs
that are supposed to protect you.
So, what do we do about that?
You want me to call Whelan
and have him come pick him up?
No, uh, no. This dog goes to
County Health for a full autopsy.
I'm sure they won't find rabies
but what I'd really like to know is
when the last time was that
Whelan gave him any food.
I've been waiting for
something to nail him with
and now, maybe I've got it.
Doggie? Doggie?
You look like a nice doggie.
Are you hungry, doggie?
Mandy, please!
Get away from the fence.
I was just feeding the doggie.
Yes, I see but we don't
play with strange doggies.
Go on! Scoot! Go back home!
Go on! Scoot! Go on!
Come on, sweetheart,
finish your lunch.
Kennels. Michael
Snyder speaking.
Michael, I'm here with Officer
Redifer of Animal Regulation.
Now, we've been coordinating
our findings on the necropsies
and he just told me something
you should know about.
Hey, Mike. Yeah, a man was
mauled by guard dogs this morning
out at Gooden's Lumber,
on Fifth and Stratton.
That used to be my
account. Whelan has it now.
Yeah, I know.
Uh, Two of his
dogs were involved.
Now, the Doberman got
away but the other was killed.
During necropsy we found
out that the dead dog's body
was loaded with gun
powder and then tranquilized.
According to Doctor Quincy,
the dog you thought was
Caesar tested the same way.
That sounds like Whelan. That's
the way he treats his animals.
And as you know, our
necropsy on the dog
that killed the Stapleton
child showed the same thing,
gun powder and tranquilizers.
So Whelan's been stealing
my dogs and substituting his.
Sick, sub-standard animals
that he turns into killers.
It sure looks that way.
And I'll tell you what else it means. It
means he's got Samson and Caesar.
We're getting a warrant for his arrest. If
your dogs are there, we'll retrieve them.
I'm sorry, Gary, I can't
wait for any warrant.
I'm not leaving my dogs with that
man one second more than I have to.
Hey, Mike... Hey, Mike?
Get over here!
Which one do you want next?
I'm only taking these two. They're
the only ones worth any real money.
You're not going to leave
the rest to starve, are you?
Uh, don't worry, the Animal
Regulation people will take care of them!
They can sell them
for fertilizer for all I care.
Can't we just let them run free?
Listen, I'll tell you
what you can do,
you can stand around here all day
and get yourself arrested if you want to.
Me, I've got other plans.
Get your hands off my dogs!
You can take your dogs
and go to hell, for all I care.
Why don't you take all
the rest of them too, huh?
Samson, hold him!
Samson, out!
If you've been treating Samson the
way you've been treating your other dogs,
I wouldn't move an inch.
Benny, I want you to go inside the
office. There's a .38 in the top drawer.
You get it and I want
you to shoot this dog.
You know something, Dave, I'd
shoot you before I'd shoot that dog.
I'm sick of the way
you treat these animals,
I don't want any
part of it anymore.
So, I guess that's
it, "Ol' buddy."
I guess we just make
ourselves comfortable and wait.
Well, I'm greatly relieved.
After that phone call, I was afraid
you might do something violent.
Dr. Quincy, when you've
got well trained dogs,
you eliminate violence.
804 Control requesting
clearance to Unit 895.
895, Control, come in.
We've made the arrest at
Whelan Security Services.
Any word on that
runaway Doberman? Over.
Nothing yet from any of
our units or LAPD. Over.
Okay, I'll follow the prisoner through
booking then I'll be back in. Out.
Gary, I'll tell you a fast
way to find that Doberman.
How?
Samson. He's one of the
best tracker's I've ever had.
Okay Samson, find him! Find him!
Damn, we may have lost him.
Isn't there anything we can do?
I just hope we
didn't lose the trail.
Come on, boy.
Samson, over there.
I think he's got it.
Don't trip.
Okay, come on.
Look at the way he's acting.
I think we're getting close.
Okay, here you go.
Got it?
Teacher! Teacher!
Oh, my God!
Mandy, don't move.
I didn't do anything
to the doggie, honest.
I know. Don't even talk.
You other children, go back inside.
Tell Mrs. Nichols to call the police.
Come here, boy.
Come over here to me.
Get those kids inside, now!
Man, I've never done that before.
I hope I never have to again.
Things have sure turned
around, haven't they?
How do you mean?
Well, he was supposed to have killed
a child. Instead, he saved one's life.
You're a good dog, Samson.
It's terrible but
it's the truth.
- Better him, than us.
- Oh, yeah.
But that's the way it is because
then he'll be saying it about us.
Excuse me.
- Did you bring
this mutt in here?
- Oh!
Now, watch who you
call "mutt," will you?
This is a thoroughbred.
What are you doing, baby?
Didn't I tell you, I want you to
stay right here and don't move?
He trains dogs
like he picks horses!
Oh, yeah? Sit, stay!
How's that?
Oh, Doctor! Blue
ribbon. You've got it.
You never told me what happened to
Whelan. What did you guys book him on?
We nailed him on a 399.
A felony for
maltreating his animals?
Oh, no, no, no. He switched the
dog that killed the Stapleton child.
So, we're gonna see to it that he spends
some hard time in prison for that one.
Well, he deserves
a nice long stay.
I wish that'd solve the
problem. He's one of many.
Well, as a matter of fact, I think
I've made a little progress there.
I had a meeting with
Senator Kagan this morning.
He's talking about a bill
that'll give us some of the
controls and regulations we need.
Of course, it doesn't go as far as I'd like
to go, but at least it breaks the ground.
Now, if you need any help,
you know you can count on me.
Hey, sorry, I'm late. I had
some work to do in the office.
Oh, that's okay, you've got plenty of
time. We haven't paid the check, yet.
Very funny. You know, the
last time we played poker...
Oh, Quincy!
Again?