Thursday, June 17, 2010

Sheriff's deputy shoots, kills vicious dog in Flagstaff

ARIZONA -- A Coconino County sheriff's deputy was forced to shoot and kill a vicious dog in Flagstaff Wednesday morning.

At approximately 8:40 a.m. Wednesday, a sheriff's deputy responded to a report that a woman was being attacked by a vicious dog as she was standing in a road.

According to Gerry Blair with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office, the victim told the deputy that she was walking on Jupiter Lane with her dog on a leash and pushing a stroller with her 3-year-old child in it.

As she passed a home, a dog that she described as a pit bull ran out of the unfenced yard and approached her and her child in a very aggressive manner, Blair said in a news release. The dog reportedly lunged at the stroller, bit at it and locked its jaws on it.

To protect her child, the woman hit the dog with a metal rod she was carrying and eventually the dog released its grip on the stroller and ran back on the porch of the home.

The deputy attempted to make contact with the dog's owner, but due to the dog's aggressive behavior he was not able to safely enter the yard. Blair said at one point, the dog charged the deputy and he had to run back to his vehicle for protection.

The deputy obtained a phone number for the owner's place of employment and made contact with her. She told the deputy she would not be able to come home until after 3 p.m.

The deputy asked dispatch to send an animal management officer to the residence to tranquilize the dog.

When several neighbors who were familiar with the dog arrived, the dog left the porch and aggressively ran at them as they were standing in the roadway.

Blair said the deputy placed himself between the dog and the two bystanders. As the dog continued to aggressively charge the deputy, he was forced to shoot and kill the advancing animal.

(Arizona Family - June 17, 2010)

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