TO KILL A PIT BULL

A belated comment about the shooting of the pit bull that attacked the horse in Old Sacramento around the holidays.  Don't Sacramento police officers carry stun guns?  I'm sure it was dreadful to witness the horse being attacked, but couldn't the dog could have been subdued using less drastic measures than gunning it down in front of horrified tourists and children in the streets of Old Sacramento like the rabid dog scene in "To Kill a Mockingbird?"  Did anyone ever determine whether or not the dog was actually rabid?  I never read anything else about the incident or the outcome of tests done on the dead dog.  If it wasn't rabid, I think they didn't need another Atticus Finch gunning it down.  I guess it's hard to keep a cool head in a situation like that, but isn't that what police are trained to do?  I'm just saying...