I was a Ft. Worth Police officer in the spring of 1982. I worked the evening shift in a patrol car on the east side of Ft. Worth. The crime rate in the city was one of the highest in the country. We made many calls and saw a variety of strange things. My last call became a car chase, and my adrenalin meter was still high. As soon as I returned to service, the dispatcher gave me another call. A concerned citizen reported some condominiums had an illegal pet. The dispatcher sent me on my way with no backup. It was busy, so there were no other units to send, which didn’t seem like a big deal.
On my way to the call, I wondered what kind of animal it could be. Perhaps it was a big snake of some sort. We received those calls occasionally. I arrived on the scene and found the address. I rang the doorbell and beat on the door, no answer. I went to the small, fenced patio in the back and looked through it. The sliding doors were closed, but the curtains were open. I could see inside the condo. I opened the gate and went onto the patio for a better look. I could see most of the condo from where I stood, and I saw the back of a large white couch and scanned it for a giant snake. After a few seconds, I moved closer to get a better look. Suddenly a massive head popped up from the other side of the couch. It took me a second to comprehend that a lion was looking at me. The adrenalin meter just kicked way back up. He had a big, majestic mane and an intimidating stare. We had a stare-down as I drew my gun. I did not point it at him, but I wanted to be ready if he lunged through the frail glass doors. Lions look a lot different when standing six feet from them, with little in between for protection.
I called the dispatcher to report what I’d seen. I said, “Uh, ya know that illegal animal call?” She answered back in the affirmative. “Well, the illegal animal is a lion, and he’s staring at me right now. Please start a supervisor to this address, as well as animal control and another unit if you have one.” She again answered in the affirmative, but I could hear laughing in the background this time. Our dispatchers had warped sense of humor. As I finished with the dispatcher, units were on their way. The lion got off the couch and walked around to the sliding doors, leaving me in awe. He was huge and acted like a king. At this point, I started thinking, what if I have to shoot him? I had a big gun with hollow point bullets, which spread out and caused significant damage. I might end up killing him, but he wouldn’t die immediately. He would have plenty of time to maul me to death or an even worse scenario. The bullets wouldn’t do anything except piss him off. I decided to go back out the gate and wait with him staring at me the whole time.
The supervisor showed up and was duly shocked with an adrenalin bump. Animal control arrived and was equally surprised, saying they could shoot him with a tranquilizer if we could get into the condo. As the supervisor and I discussed it, the owner showed up. Now it was his turn to be shocked. He couldn’t imagine what we were doing there. We informed him of the reason for our presence, and he reluctantly agreed to let us into the condo. He decided it was better than going to jail. We also informed him of the damage we’d cause if we had to break in to get the lion. Animal control got the lion out of the condo and transported him. The condo owner paid a hefty fine. The lion ended up at a nature center and refuge.
The last I heard; the lion was doing great. For a while, I thought about bringing an elephant gun to work. The big gun should take care of just about any animal I came in contact with. I’m glad we didn’t hurt the lion, but I’m also glad I went home that night.
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The Illegal Pet Call
by Doug Moss
Doug Moss is a San Antonio native and graduate of the University of Texas in Austin with a degree in business administration. After several jobs in the business sector (Bank of San Antonio and the J.C. Penney Co.), he joined the Fort Worth Police Department and moved to the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, serving the department for 15 years in patrol, S.W.A.T., vice, bike patrol, and the police helicopter.
He had about every kind of police experience, such as car chases, fights, and shootings. He has conversed with the lowest scummiest wino up to the president of the United States (George Bush, 41) and almost every type of person in-between. He has talked with top businesspeople, foreign dignitaries, murderers, and trailer trash.
Most of his " crazy police work" happened at the Ft. Worth Police Department. He also worked with a small police department serving the very wealthy.
To add to his impressive resume, Doug has worked as a private investigator on corporate undercover cases, which included surveillance and infiltration using hidden video equipment.
He is retired and widowed with three grown kids and several grandkids. He is working on his next adventure of bringing his magnificent law enforcement stories to light.
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