04/03-08/08: Pit Bulls Shot by Police

Rayne Police Department Speaks out on Pit Bull Shooting
(04/03/08): Rayne, LA - A pit bull was killed by Rayne Police in a chaotic chase on Sunday. The police department recently spoke out about how the disturbing incident occurred. Rayne Police say they received a call about two pit bulls running loose on Fourth Street. A witness told the responding officer that the brown dog killed a cat.

Police say they shot at the dog four times with three shots penetrating and ultimately killing the animal. Police Chief Stelly tells us that in situations involving attacking or vicious dogs Police Officers are allowed to kill them if they feel the animal is a legitimate threat to their surroundings.

The owners of the pit bull aren't too happy about the incident. Brendan and Amanda were shocked to come home from running errands to find out their dogs had gotten loose and had a run in with the police. Neighbor Matthew James Crandle delivered the bad news: Debo was dead and Mercy was missing.

Crandle's telling of the event is suspect. He doesn't know who called the cops, but he says after the cops arrived, things got violent. He says the cops chased the brown dog back into its fenced yard. Then the cop jumped the fence and unloaded 3 rounds. Then they chased the dog into Crandle's yard where they unloaded more rounds.

The dog's owners want to know why using a gun was the solution. Amanda says "There are tranquilizer guns out there. I could have handled that. We would have taken responsibility. There's no reason he should have died. We would have paid any fine we had to take any precaution to make sure those dogs don't get out again."

Cops don't tote tranquilizer guns for the specific purpose of saving pit bull lives Ms. Black. Cops carry weapons to effectively stop human beings -- animal tranquilizer pellets don't cut it.

Pit Bull Shot Dead By Deputies
(04/07/08): Poinciana, FL - Two Osceola County Deputies shot Precious, a 13-month-old pit bull, as her owners' daughter watched from a window. The two deputies were responding to a call of a potentially vicious dog roaming in the area of Nancy Court without a leash. The officers felt threatened, so they shot the dog.

June Farrell, Precious' owner, said she did not believe proper force was used.
"For me, I think the Humane Society should have been called, because they're professionals with dogs," Farrell said. "They came, and they didn't even evaluate. They just shot my dog down."

Yet another indicator that pit bull owners live on Mars. Ms. Farrell should thank her lucky stars that Precious didn't attack a human being or animal while being unleashed and off-property.

Twis Lizasuain, a spokeswoman for the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, said that the deputy did feel threatened, because the dog was snarling. It did aggressively approach him, and he did what he thought was necessary to get that animal not to attack him. The Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting.

Police Shoot Pit Bull After it Attacked Owner
(04/07/08): Port Byron, IL - Port Byron police killed a pit bull after it attacked its owner today, said Police Chief Christopher O'Donovan. He said he saw the dog biting Johanna Wiggins, 23, and shot it once, then four more times as the dog moved to attack him. An ambulance took Wiggins to Auburn Hospital. She was then transferred to University Hospital for stitches, O'Donovan said. She suffered "significant damage" to her left arm, he said.

The dog died and was picked up by a Cayuga County dog control officer, O'Donovan said. It will be tested for rabies. O'Donovan didn't know why the dog attacked Wiggins. Wiggins recently moved to that address and police have not received prior calls about the dog, he said.

Anderson Cop Shoots Pit Bull After Attack on 5-Year Old
(04/08/08): Anderson, SC - A pit bull was shot and killed about 6 p.m. Monday in Anderson after a police officer shot one of two dogs that reportedly had a 5-year-old girl by her hair. Anderson police Officer Mark Miller shot one of the dogs after it ran at him when he responded to a call for help on Cherry Street.

According to the incident report, two pit bulls were running around 21-year-old Diana Burton's house with broken ropes attached to their collars. The child was not injured, and Ms. Burton suffered minor injuries, the report states. Officer Miller was not injured. Thank God the cops got there in time.

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