Enough of the whining and Monday morning quarterbacking from NJ animal lovers on social media.

I'm a dog owner and have rescued dogs. That said, my wife and I know that it's our responsibility to keep our dog contained. In the Vernon case, there was a report of a 'dangerous' dog loose in the streets. Cops respond and as you can clearly see in the body cam video, the aggressive dog is charging at the cop. Easy for the casual observer to break down the video in slow motion and pretend that you may have made a different decision other than shooting. But in reality, cops are charged with making split second decisions in order to protect public safety.

Do we know if there were kids in the next driveway playing? Someone's smaller pet dog walking? Do we know if the dog had a history of getting out and acting aggressive? The cop had no choice.

Thankfully there are courageous cops willing to take the public abuse from irresponsible news outlets and social media trolls.The folks in Vernon are fortunate to have officers like this on duty. As far as blame? Start with the owner of the dog.

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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