Dragnet: The Big Dog 11/16/1954

Summary

Podcast Summary: Choice Classic Radio Detectives | Dragnet: "The Big Dog" (11/16/1954)

Episode Theme:
This episode of Dragnet (“The Big Dog”) centers around a tragic case involving grief, justice, and community: Detective Joe Friday and his partner Frank Smith must defuse a dangerous standoff with an elderly man, Peter Collins, who is holding his neighborhood at gunpoint after the poisoning and death of his beloved dog. The episode explores how loss and loneliness can lead to desperate actions, the challenges of enforcing animal cruelty laws, and the importance of compassion in law enforcement and community.

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Key Discussion Points & Plot Breakdown

1. Setting the Stage: High Tension in the Neighborhood

• [00:35] The episode opens with Detectives Friday and Smith called to a tense situation: Peter Collins has barricaded himself at his home, armed with a shotgun, claiming he’ll kill “the man” who poisoned his dog.

• Quote:

  "You're a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. An elderly man is threatening an entire neighborhood with a shotgun. He says he's going to use it to kill a man. Your job, take it away from him." (Announcer, 00:35)

• Collins sits with a sign declaring, "I will not live in the same neighborhood with a dog poisoner."

2. Collins’ Deep Grief & Isolation

• Collins mourns Queenie, his dog of 14 years, and is desperate for revenge or justice.

• His isolation is underlined; Queenie was his sole companion.

• Quote:

  "My dog. Had her 14 years and somebody killed her." (Peter Collins, 02:25)

• The officers try to reason with him, learning about the importance of Queenie in Collins’ life and his sense of helplessness against the unknown poisoner.

3. A Literary Moment: Reading from 'What My Dog Taught Me'

• [04:45–13:22] Collins reads a passage from O.O. McIntyre’s What My Dog Taught Me, expressing the profound bond and lessons a dog can give their human.

• Quote:

  “Brothers and sisters, I bid you beware of giving your heart to a dog to tear.” (Peter Collins quoting Kipling/McIntyre, 05:21)

  “For my dog taught me many things as enduring as the ages. Outside of the divine relationship and the human, I know of no influence so ennobling as our relationship with a dog.” (Peter Collins, 06:00–07:00)

• This segment moves both the characters and likely the audience, revealing the emotional root of Collins’ actions.

4. Neighborhood’s Perspective & Law Enforcement’s Challenge

• [15:01] Neighbors approach, showing sympathy for Collins but condemning his dangerous response.

• They reveal that Queenie is not the only victim—13 other dogs have died from poisoning, frustrating the residents and complicating the investigation.

• Quote:

  “We were all sorry when Queenie died. Wasn’t anybody on the street, didn’t want to do something… But you sit here with that gun, trying to turn this street into a shooting gallery, and none of us are with you.” (Neighbor Woman, 15:03–15:19)

• The episode details the high bar required to legally prove animal poisoning, highlighting community powerlessness.

5. Breakthrough: The Poisoner is Found

• [17:32] Police apprehend Bentley Mocker, caught tossing poisoned meat in alleyways.
• Mocker confesses, expressing no remorse:
• Quote:

  “What if I did?”
  “Those dogs meant a lot to the people who lost them. That old man sitting up there on the porch, to him, that dog was part of his life. What gives you the right to sneak around back alleys and side yards and kill off a pet that belongs to a child or an old man?” (Detective Joe Friday, 18:35–19:09)

• The scene teeters on violence, Collins nearly shooting Mocker before officers intervene.

6. Resolution: Compassion Prevails

• [20:08] Just as the standoff threatens to escalate, a boy, Davey, brings Collins a note and a puppy from the neighborhood, courtesy of Mrs. Tom Evans.

• The gesture breaks the tension—Collins surrenders his gun and, though still grieving, is offered new hope by the community’s kindness.

• Quote:

  “All of your neighbors are dreadfully sorry you lost your Queenie. I know this one may never take her place, but please give her the chance. Oh yes. It’s a little girl.” (Mrs. Evans’ note, read by Peter Collins, 21:32–21:58)

• Collins meets and accepts the new puppy, and the situation is peacefully resolved.

7. Aftermath and Legal Outcomes

• [22:43] In narration, the legal fallout is summarized:
  • Collins receives probation for his actions due to his clean record and extenuating circumstances.
  • Bentley Mocker is convicted for animal poisoning.
  • The episode closes with gratitude to the McNaught Syndicate for allowing excerpts from What My Dog Taught Me.

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Memorable Moments & Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “You can sit there and think you got this thing under control, but you haven’t.” – Frank Smith (03:28)
• “My dog taught me many things as enduring as the ages.” – Peter Collins quoting McIntyre (06:00)
• “[Dog poisoning]—the way the law reads, in order to prove poisoning, you gotta see the person throw the bait… Even if you do, you can’t just go in and arrest them.” – Neighbor Woman 2 (16:31–16:39)
• “I could go on for hours about [dogs]. Had my way I’d get rid of them all.” – Bentley Mocker (18:55)
• “Those dogs meant a lot to the people who lost them. That old man… that dog was part of his life.” – Detective Joe Friday (19:00)
• “In your case, they are [dogs are better than humans].” – Detective Joe Friday to Mocker (19:19)
• “I know this one may never take her place, but please give her the chance… it’s a little girl.” – Mrs. Evans’ note (21:36–21:58)
• “She’ll grow into that one.” – Detective Joe Friday, gently, about the puppy’s collar (22:30)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:35: Setup of the case and standoff with Collins.
• 02:25–04:45: Collins’ grief and justification for his actions.
• 04:45–13:22: Reading from What My Dog Taught Me—central emotional moment.
• 15:01–16:31: Community reaction and struggles with animal cruelty laws.
• 17:32–19:20: The culprit is caught, confesses, confrontation climax.
• 20:08–21:58: The gift of the puppy and peaceful resolution.
• 22:43–23:34: Legal outcomes for both Collins and Mocker.

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Episode Tone & Language

The episode is emotionally charged, straightforward, and typical of Dragnet’s crisp, realistic police procedural style. The dialogue is direct, often sympathetic but never sentimental, resonating with frustration, vulnerability, and ultimately compassion—key aspects of postwar American radio drama.

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Conclusion

“The Big Dog” showcases not only old-style police work and crime-solving but also empathy for those broken by loss. The episode gently rebukes both vigilante and callous cruelty (animal poisoning), highlighting the value of community, understanding, and mercy. The reading from What My Dog Taught Me stands out as a poignant and memorable centerpiece, offering insight into the transformative power of human-animal relationships.

For listeners:
This is a moving, suspenseful, and surprisingly tender classic radio drama that balances hard-boiled detective work with genuine emotion and neighborly compassion.

Transcript

[Narrator]

Welcome to Choice Classic Radio, where we bring to you the greatest old time radio shows like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube and thank you for [e-mail].

[Announcer]

Ladies and gentlemen, the story you are about to hear is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

[Narrator]

Dragnet.

[Announcer]

You'Re a detective sergeant. You're assigned a homicide detail. An elderly man is threatening an entire neighborhood with a shotgun. He says he's going to use it to kill a man. Your job, take it away from him.

[Detective Joe Friday]

It was Tuesday, June 15th. It was hot in Los Angeles. We were working the day.

[Detective Lloyd]

Watch out.

[Detective Joe Friday]

A homicide detail. My partner's Frank Smith. The boss is Captain Lawman. My name's Friday. We're on our way out from the office and it was 11:46am when we got to unit 1F. The police car standing by.

[Detective Lloyd]

Hi, Joe.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Lloyd.

[Detective Lloyd]

What do you got? Take a look at the sign.

[Officer]

Yeah.

[Officer Frank Smith]

I will not live in the same neighborhood with a dog poisoner. Looks like he painted it himself.

[Detective Lloyd]

And there's. We can figure he did.

[Narrator]

How'd you get the complaint?

[Peter Collins]

Came in.

[Detective Lloyd]

See the man. When we got here, the guy was sitting up there with his shotgun. Told us to leave him alone. We figured maybe you'd be a little better equipped to handle it.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Well, it might not work out that way, but we'll give it a try.

[Detective Lloyd]

Anything we can do to help out, just be here. Right.

[Peter Collins]

You make a move for a gun, and I'll have to kill you.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Want to tell us why you're doing this?

[Peter Collins]

My business.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Well, that gun makes it ours.

[Peter Collins]

You think that? If you want to. It doesn't make any difference to me. I didn't ask you out here.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah, well, now that we made the trip, don't you think you ought to tell us?

[Peter Collins]

No.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Something to do with that sign might.

[Peter Collins]

Hell, yeah.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Well, you better tell us about it.

[Peter Collins]

I don't see how it's going to help.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You won't know unless you try, will you?

[Peter Collins]

All right, I'll tell you what. You come up here by the porch, we'll talk. Make it slow. Don't try to be smart. I can hit both of you with one shot from here.

[Officer]

Yeah.

[Peter Collins]

Might not kill you, but it'd make you pretty sick. That's good. We'll live right there. Now just stand still.

[Officer]

All right.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You want to tell us what this is all about?

[Peter Collins]

My dog had her 14 years and somebody killed her.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Well, that's not much of a reason to sit out here and threaten everybody who walks by Your house, is it?

[Peter Collins]

It is for me.

[Officer]

Why?

[Peter Collins]

But I know that they'll show up.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Who will show up?

[Peter Collins]

Whoever done it. They'll walk down the street, and when they do, I'm gonna get them.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You know we're not gonna let you do that.

[Peter Collins]

I don't see that there's much you can do to stop me.

[Officer Frank Smith]

If you know who killed your dog, why don't you come downtown and make a complaint like you should?

[Officer]

Evidence. What's that?

[Peter Collins]

Gotta have evidence.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah, well, you must have a lot of it to be ready to kill a man.

[Peter Collins]

We'll see.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Who do you think poisoned your dog?

[Peter Collins]

I don't know, but he'll be by.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Anybody else live in that house with you?

[Officer]

No.

[Officer Frank Smith]

There's nobody inside.

[Detective Lloyd]

Huh?

[Peter Collins]

I told you, there ain't nobody. Used to be Queenie, but not now. This is a picture of her. Beautiful.

[Officer Frank Smith]

I'm gonna tell you something, old timer.

[Officer]

What?

[Officer Frank Smith]

You can sit there and think you got this thing under control, but you haven't.

[Peter Collins]

Is that right?

[Officer]

Yes, sir.

[Peter Collins]

Maybe you better take another look. I've got the gun.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah, well, it might be that way, but there's a hundred more that are gonna keep you from committing a murder out here.

[Peter Collins]

That's a hard word to use, isn't it?

[Officer Frank Smith]

No. Because that's what you're figuring to do, isn't it?

[Peter Collins]

How do you think you're gonna stop me?

[Officer Frank Smith]

You bring that gun up in the firing position and I'll show you how.

[Detective Joe Friday]

I'm gonna stop you.

[Peter Collins]

All I'm trying to do is to pay back something. I don't want to hurt anybody else. Look, mister, why don't you tell us.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Who you think poisoned your dog and why we might be able to do something for you.

[Peter Collins]

Cause I don't think it'd help.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Why don't you give it a try?

[Peter Collins]

He was poisoned. I saw her come home. I saw her crawl right up that log, on her stomach, ragging her hind legs.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah.

[Peter Collins]

You wouldn't understand what she meant to me. She was like a person, someone to talk to. She was a lot of company. This book here was written by a man who knew. He understood.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah, well, all that may be fine, but you got no right to sit out here with that shotgun.

[Peter Collins]

This man knew about dogs. Art McIntyre.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Who's that, sir?

[Peter Collins]

Oh, McIntyre, I want you to listen. This will explain is what I'm doing here. Hold it. Hold it right there. I'll drop this book and kill you. Now, I want you to listen to this. I want you to listen carefully. Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware.

[Officer]

Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.

[Peter Collins]

So wrote Kipling in an excellent allergic. I happen to be a dog lover.

[Officer]

Who does not believe in that warning. Eight of the happiest years of my.

[Peter Collins]

Life was spent in the almost constant.

[Officer]

Companionship of a devoted dog. When he was taken from me, surely, but with merciful swiftness, it was a terrific outrage. For two days I grieved inconsolably. For weeks I walked the streets at night, trying to get hold of myself. Yet now, when time has dulled the pain, I can truthfully say that the joy and understanding my dog brought into my life more than compensated for the sorrow of his passing. For my dog taught me many things as enduring as the ages. Outside of the divine relationship and the human, I know of no influence so ennobling as our relationship with a dog. My dog's name was Junior. She was a Boston Bulldog weighing 24 pounds, with a blazing muzzle, white collar, and feet tipped with white. His coat was the glossy brown of an autumn leaf. He had a lovable locked ear that perked with quizzical abandonment. He was full of joyous life and never, never outgrew his bankers. I picked him up in the Fifth Avenue dog shop in much the same manner that one buys a trinket. I thought he was cute looking. He was then four weeks old, and prodded sideways with mock seriousness, I took him home in my overcoat pockets. From that day on, for eight years he played a big part in my life. He came to understand me better than most of my human associates did. He knew his time for play and my time for work. He did not trespass. His only illness displayed the heroic courage that characterized him until his death. One evening, his mistress and I came home after the theatre, and when we opened the door, we missed his welcoming rush and bark. We found him lying on the floor of the bathroom in a pool of blood. When I bent over him, there was a feeble thump of his tail as much as to say, don't worry. His eyes were glazing, and I knew that he was in a desperate state. We worked over him several hours, and finally, in a wobbly manner, he stood up, walked unsteadily to the bedroom and picked up his play ball as if to say, you see, I'm all right. In a half hour, he had another hemorrh. With uncanny instinct, he rushed into the tile bathrobe so as not to injure the garment. Fortunately, he recovered quickly from his attack and in two days seemed as well as ever. Dogs are Unerring in reflecting the characters of their masters and mistress. To Junior, I represented the play spirit, the wrong man. Flapdoodle. Well, he was somewhat of a rough neck in his relations with me, but with his mistress, he was always gentle and careful. One of the important lessons Junior taught me was to have more faith in my fellow beings. I had for years knocked about as a newspaper reporter and had acquired that veneer of cynicism that is typical of the craft. I'd rather smart alecky attitude of having to be shown. Now I am the average human being as likely to err as the rest. But I found that with Junior, because of his implicit faith in me, I never attempted trickery. I could not bear to abuse that rare confidence, and this set me to thinking that if we humans displayed the same faith in our fellows, we should be less likely to have that confidence abused. I come to the final chapter of Junior's life with tears that are shed unashamed. As I have said, he was my constant companion for eight happy years. My longest absence from him was when I was in Europe, where the quarantine regulations are so strict that it is quite unfair and selfish to take a dog there. Junior, like all good dogs, was faithful to the end. He died obeying my command, which made his loss all the more tragic to me. I left him after his evening rob and was away until shortly after midnight. Upon my return, his greeting was, it seemed to me, especially joyous. It was so joyous, in fact, that it indirectly led to his death. Shortly before I arrived, a servant had taken him out for a walk. But he was so glad to see me, and he loved so to go out late at night without a muzzle or a leash on. But I humored him, and we went out again together. At that hour, there was very little traffic on fifth Avenue, and Junior ran far ahead of me. He had been trained to wait at curvings when unleashed until he received the command go. Then he would race across the street like a flash. At the corner of 44th street and 5th Avenue, I stepped to the curb, looked both ways for signs of traffic, and seeing none shouted go. Junior was off at a bow. At that instant, a party of reckless joyriders in a heavy touring car swung madly around the corner, and both wheels on one side passed over his body. There was a jeer of derision that the car shot north with the taillights gleaming red in the night. Junior staggered to his feet, and as I lifted him in my arms, he looked up with his soft, pleading eyes, begging for the help I could not give Hailing a taxi cab, I hurried to my hotel a few blocks away. But before I reached there, he had died without even a whiffer of pain. He lies buried today in the picturesque Little Dog Cemetery on the sloping hills of Hartsdale, New York. Above him are the green grass, the whispering trees, and a stone carved with this inscription. Julia. Faithful to the end. He is a great columnist to old McIntyre.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yes.

[Peter Collins]

Now then, we'll all just wait.

[Officer Frank Smith]

For what?

[Officer]

A man who poisoned Queenie.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You're expecting him, are you?

[Officer]

You'll be by. This is going to be something different for you two.

[Detective Joe Friday]

How's that?

[Officer]

You won't have to look for the man who kills him.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Friday. See you a minute?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah, Lloyd, what do you got?

[Detective Lloyd]

We checked the old man through R and I.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You find any Wing news?

[Detective Lloyd]

No, no record.

[Detective Joe Friday]

How about the neighborhood now?

[Detective Lloyd]

Perkins and Henry check, talk to the people on the street. Well, then, as we can find out, he's pretty near a hermit. Doesn't have much to do with anybody.

[Narrator]

No close friend?

[Detective Lloyd]

No, none that anybody knows about. He gets one piece of mail a month. Evidently some kind of check.

[Officer]

Mm.

[Detective Lloyd]

We talked to the manager at the grocery down the street. Collins does all his shopping there.

[Detective Joe Friday]

What do you have to say about that check?

[Detective Lloyd]

It's from an insurance company. Some kind of annuity.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Anything else?

[Officer]

No.

[Detective Lloyd]

Rest of the book's empty. Where do we go from here?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Find some way to get that gun away from him.

[Detective Lloyd]

Any ideas?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Well, if we could find a poisoner, it might give us a break.

[Detective Lloyd]

If there is a poisoner.

[Detective Joe Friday]

No, Lloyd. I believe him. Anyway, it won't do any harm to shake the neighborhood. We pick the guy up, maybe the old man will settle down.

[Detective Lloyd]

It's a big job.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah, well, that's a big gun. 1207pm we contacted the office and made arrangements for additional cars to start a thorough search of the area. Was just an outside chance that the dog poisoner might still be in the neighborhood somewhere. The crowd on the sidewalk had gotten larger and the uniformed officers were having trouble keeping order. While I was talking to the office, a middle aged woman broke through the lines and ran toward the porch and. Peter Collins.

[Officer]

Pete.

[Neighbor Woman]

Pete Collins.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Hold it right there, lady.

[Neighbor Woman]

He's a friend of mine.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah, well, he won't be if he pulls the trigger on that gun.

[Neighbor Woman]

What are you trying to do? Pete Collins?

[Officer]

What?

[Neighbor Woman]

What are you doing to our street?

[Peter Collins]

I don't know what you mean.

[Neighbor Woman]

We were all sorry when Queenie died. Wasn't anybody on the street, didn't want to do something.

[Officer]

That's nice of you.

[Neighbor Woman]

You sit here with that gun, trying to turn this street into a shooting gallery, and none of us are with you.

[Peter Collins]

You know why I'm doing it.

[Neighbor Woman]

That don't make it right. We had a meeting last night. All the people in the neighborhood tried to think what to do about getting you another dog.

[Peter Collins]

I don't want no other dog.

[Neighbor Woman]

Grow up. Put that gun away and grow up.

[Peter Collins]

You get out of here right now. You get out of here and tell your friends that I don't need them. None of them. You go tell them that, will you?

[Detective Joe Friday]

All right.

[Officer]

Come on over here, Joe.

[Detective Lloyd]

Yeah, Just talk to the office.

[Detective Joe Friday]

They're sending out more men.

[Detective Lloyd]

Gas, guns and.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Anything on the poisoner? No.

[Peter Collins]

Still looking.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Lady. What do you know about him?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Lived next door for 16 years.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You live alone all that time?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Yeah. I think he was married before he moved here.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

All he had was that old dog. Just the two of them.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You have any idea who might have poisoned the dog?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

We don't like the answer to that one, ma'.

[Officer]

Am.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Queenie's not the first one. Been 13 others.

[Neighbor Woman]

Hardly a dog on the block that.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Hasn'T gotten sick and done about everything we could.

[Officer]

It isn't easy.

[Detective Joe Friday]

What do you mean?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

The way the law is.

[Officer]

What?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

We checked into it.

[Officer]

We did.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

The way the law reads, in order.

[Neighbor Woman]

To prove poisoning, you gotta see the.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Person throw the bait.

[Officer]

Yeah.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

There's none of us got time to sit around the back fence and watch people walking down the alley. But even if you do see the person throw the bait, you can't just go in and arrest them, all right? Law says you gotta have part of the bait. That's hard to do.

[Officer]

Mm.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Makes it almost impossible.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You been to the authorities, have you?

[Officer]

Yeah.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

FBCA police. They've all done what they could. Dogs keep right on dying. We've even thought of maybe hiring somebody on our own. You know, sort of a special cop. Yeah, it seems ashamed, don't it, ma'?

[Officer]

Am?

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Poor old man. How could anybody get low enough to poison his dog?

[Detective Joe Friday]

That's what he wants to know, Joe. Yeah. You better leave, lady.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Oh, yeah. This is nothing more can do.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah, what do you got?

[Officer Frank Smith]

Well, this man here, his name is Bentley Mocker.

[Detective Lloyd]

Yeah.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Uniformed men picked him up in an.

[Officer]

Alley a couple of blocks from here.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Throwing this over the back fences.

[Officer]

Meat, huh?

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yeah.

[Peter Collins]

William. That the man? That the man who poisoned Queen?

[Officer]

All right.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Put that gun down, Collins.

[Peter Collins]

I'm gonna kill him.

[Officer]

How about it, Joe?

[Officer Frank Smith]

Collins, Put it down.

[Peter Collins]

Oh. Stand clear.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Better get these people out of here.

[Officer]

Right. What are we gonna do?

[Detective Joe Friday]

No choice now. Yeah, we gotta shoot him. 12:24pm in spite of the precautions, began to look as if we wouldn't be able to take Collins gun away from him without physical violence. As he raised the shotgun, cocked it and pointed it at Bentley Marker, all of the other officers in the vicinity were ready to stop him.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Collins, you use that gun and I'm going to use mine. Put it down.

[Peter Collins]

I'll shoot through you to get to it.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Yes, sir, you're going to have to.

[Officer]

What's going on here?

[Officer Frank Smith]

You got the right to do this to me. How about it?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Did you poison his dog?

[Officer]

He's crazy. He'll kill me if he gets a chance.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Just answer me. Did you poison his dog?

[Officer Frank Smith]

What if I did?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Answer the question, mister.

[Officer]

All right, I did. I poisoned him.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You've been dropping poisoned meat all over this neighborhood, haven't you?

[Officer Frank Smith]

There ain't anything you can do about it. 14 dogs killed around here.

[Officer]

Did you do it, Hess? That's all they are. Good riddance.

[Detective Joe Friday]

That's the way it looks to you, does it?

[Officer]

Sure.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Rooting around the yards, barking and yowling.

[Officer]

No good any of them.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You all through?

[Officer]

I could go on for hours about them. Had my way I'd get rid of them all.

[Detective Joe Friday]

I'm gonna tell you something. Those dogs meant a lot to the people who lost them. That old man sitting up there on the porch, to him, that dog was part of his life. What gives you the right to sneak around back alleys and side yards and kill off a pet that belongs to a child or an old man?

[Officer]

I don't have to stand around here and listen to you.

[Detective Joe Friday]

No, sir, you don't. Lloyd.

[Detective Lloyd]

Yeah, Joe.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Take him downtown, but far.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You got no law to hold me.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Yeah, well, maybe we can find one.

[Officer]

The way you talk, you think dogs.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Are better than humans.

[Detective Joe Friday]

In your case, they are.

[Detective Lloyd]

Come on, let's go.

[Officer]

Frank.

[Narrator]

Yeah?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Tell him to stand by with a gas.

[Detective Lloyd]

Yeah.

[Officer Frank Smith]

No other way, huh?

[Detective Joe Friday]

No. I'll make one more try.

[Officer]

Right.

[Detective Joe Friday]

I'll bring up the heavy stuff.

[Officer Frank Smith]

All right, Collins, it's all over now. I'm gonna tell you once more. Put that gun down until I get.

[Peter Collins]

One chance at that poisoner.

[Officer Frank Smith]

He's gone. He's downtown now. This is the last time.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Put it down.

[Peter Collins]

I don't care anymore.

[Officer Frank Smith]

It's up to you. We've done all we can.

[Peter Collins]

That man ought to die.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Put the gun down.

[Peter Collins]

I don't care anymore. I just as soon shoot you, Collins.

[Officer Frank Smith]

It's all over. Now. Put that gun down or we'll take it away from you.

[Officer]

Joe.

[Announcer]

Joe.

[Officer]

Yeah? Take a look.

[Detective Joe Friday]

What's the kid want here?

[Officer]

Well, look. Note in Louis coat.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Policeman. Maybe this will help.

[Officer]

Read it.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Did you read this?

[Officer]

Yeah.

[Detective Joe Friday]

Well, we'll give it a try.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Collins, there's a boy here wants to see you.

[Peter Collins]

I don't want to talk to anybody.

[Officer Frank Smith]

You might want to see him.

[Peter Collins]

Who is it?

[Detective Joe Friday]

What's your name, sir?

[Neighbor Woman]

Davey.

[Detective Lloyd]

Davey.

[Peter Collins]

Oh, I know him. It's okay. Let him come up.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Not as long as you got that gun. Now, how about it?

[Peter Collins]

All right, break it.

[Officer Frank Smith]

Take the shells out and toss them down there on the lawn. Now let that gun slide down the port steps. Come on.

[Detective Joe Friday]

All right, son. Come ahead.

[Officer]

Davey.

[Peter Collins]

What'd you want to see me about?

[Neighbor Woman]

Ma said I should give you this note.

[Officer]

What's in it?

[Detective Joe Friday]

Now, the quickest way to find that out is to read it, isn't it?

[Officer]

My dear Mr. Collins, as you well.

[Peter Collins]

Know, all of your neighbors are dreadfully.

[Officer]

Sorry you lost your queen. I know this one may never take her place, but please give her the chance. Oh, yes. It's a little girl. Your neighbor, Mrs. Tom Evans.

[Detective Joe Friday]

You want to see the puppy? Well, come on, son. Let's unzip your jacket.

[Officer]

Here.

[Neighbor Woman 2]

Here.

[Officer]

Okay.

[Detective Joe Friday]

There you are.

[Officer]

It's a little. Just a puppy. That's right. Yeah. Greedy's collar doesn't fit too good. I think I'll have to get another one.

[Detective Joe Friday]

No, I wouldn't worry about that.

[Officer]

Huh?

[Detective Joe Friday]

She'll grow into that one.

[Announcer]

The story you've just heard is true. The names were changed to protect the innocent.

[Narrator]

On July 12, trial was held in Division 68 Municipal Court, Los Angeles Judicial District. Peter Lawrence Collins pled guilty to violation of section 417pc, drawing or exhibiting firearms. One count, extenuating circumstances and lack of a prior record led the court to be lenient. The suspect was placed on probation for a period of three years. Bentley Jones Mocker was tried and convicted of section 596pc unauthorized animal poisoning and received sentence as prescribed by law. Violation of section 596pc is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months or a fine of not more than $500 or both. Such fine and imprisonment.

[Announcer]

Ladies and gentlemen, we are grateful to the McNaught Syndicate Incorporated for granting permission to read excerpts from O. O. McIntyre's article entitled what My Dog Taught Me.

[Detective Lloyd]

You have just heard Dragnet. The authentic story of your police force in action and starring Jack Webb, a presentation of the United States Armed Forces Radio.