You have got to be kidding me! In Anne Arundel County's investigation, they discovered an independent witness who not only verified Bear's guardian's account of the shooting, but verified that Keith Elgin Shepherd immediately drew and fired his weapon almost before the words were out of his mouth requesting the control of Bear-Bear; and all he is being charged with is two misdemeanors ("Man faces two charges in shooting of dog," Aug. 19)?

Why and who is protecting this guy? This was a malicious attack of a loving animal, who I'm sure greatly suffered his injuries until he was mercifully euthanized.

This man is a danger to society and should not be in possession of a weapon at all. How many points above the failing mark of the police department's psych evaluation did he get; one, two maybe?

He obviously was not truthful when he gave his statement of the account of the incident and in the 911 tape he seemed more interested in making sure they knew he was a federal police officer. Did he hope the blue wall would protect him?

If the results are the same with humans, I shudder to think of the consequences. This is not the Old West and I whole heartedly agree with the writer who stated that Mr. Shepherd has never gotten over his Wyatt Earp complex!

If laws are not in place to severely punish and prosecute with more stringent penalties, then I think our elected officials need to write laws ensuring that justice can be served in future situations such as this. In my opinion, prosecutors need to look deeper into the law books to ensure no prosecutorial stone is left unturned in this brutal murder.

Helen Lysik, Pasadena