Family Grieves for Pet Dog Reportedly Slain by Postman

A grieving Arleta family, whose dog was allegedly shot to death by a mail carrier, Wednesday planned a memorial service for Skippy and said they may sue the postman.

Tammie Brody, 27, said that she was about to give the carrier his Christmas present--a bottle of vodka--Tuesday afternoon when he shot the 2-year-old mixed German shepherd with a pistol.

She said she was disturbed that her 10-year-old son, Brian, saw the shooting.

“I don’t know how my son will deal with this, and I’m worried,” Brody said, adding that she is having an autopsy performed on the animal for use in suing the postman if her son needs therapy.

Los Angeles police arrested mail carrier Floyd Bertran Sterling, 34, of Pacoima later Tuesday as he continued his rounds. He was released pending further investigation.

Police Lt. Rick Violano said the case will be turned over to the district attorney’s office. Sterling could be charged with carrying a concealed weapon, cruelty to animals or discharging a firearm, Officer Sidney Benaske said.

The U.S. Postal Service said carriers are not authorized to carry firearms. Spokesman Ron Cook said Sterling has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Benaske said Sterling told officers that he had been bitten by the dog in the past and had complained to his supervisor.

Sterling could not be reached for comment Wednesday. His in-laws, Angel and Consuelo Arroyo, said the postman likes animals but had complained to them that Brody’s dog had recently bitten him.

“He’s a good person,” Consuelo Arroyo, 48, said. “The dog probably just frightened him.”

Brody said Sterling actually got along well with the dog and often “petted him and played with him.”

Brody said she had bought Sterling the vodka because he sent her family a Christmas card and was about to give it to him when the carrier arrived at her home on Bartee Avenue.

“I got to the door and boom,” she said. “I don’t know what happened. He just freaked out and shot the dog . . . for absolutely no reason.”

Brody said Sterling “looked up at me and said, ‘I shot him.’ I said, ‘With what?’ and he said, ‘With a 22.-caliber gun.’ ”

The dead dog was removed from Brody’s lawn Wednesday afternoon by workers from the Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, where it will be buried during a private memorial service, Brody said. Postal officials agreed to pay for the burial and have apologized to the family, she said.

Another resident along Sterling’s route said the carrier had been bitten at least once before, by another dog. Buddy Taylor, 52, said his family had their mail delivery suspended for three days in August after his Doberman pinscher bit Sterling at the Taylor home, which is several blocks away from the Brody residence.

“I’ve seen my own dog menace him and scare the heck out of him,” Taylor said. “I can’t believe he’d shoot Skippy without a good reason.”

Sterling has worked as a carrier for about nine years, Pacoima Postmaster Leon Washington said. He described him as an “exceptional” postman.

“He’s a very good carrier. Hard-working. He had to be afraid of being hurt” by the dog, he said.

Several other Pacoima carriers complained that the Postal Service does not adequately protect them from hostile pets. They said department managers often blame carriers for problems with pets.

Times staff writer Tracey Kaplan contributed to this story