Farmer Shoots, Kills Pit Bulls that Attacked Pet Pigs
Nominated: Pig Owner of the YearEstero, FL - An Estero man shot and killed two pit bulls that attacked the man’s pet pigs, Lee County Animal Services said. Jerry Ward shot the dogs with a .22-caliber rifle, according to an incident report. Ward told Animal Services workers that a third pit bull escaped into the woods. The report said, Ward first heard "a lot of commotion" outside before seeing the dogs.
One of the pit bulls bit Ward’s boot and tore away a large chunk, but Ward was not injured. One of the pigs,
Porkchop, died on the scene. Ward planned to shoot the other pig,
Wilbur, due to its injuries. Both pigs received severe cuts to the face and ears. If you care to see what a pit bull can do to a pet pig,
view this video (pit bulls killing pigs is also a sport:
hog dog rodeos).
Animal Services field operations manager Lance Raiche said, "We have no idea who the owners are at this point." The dogs didn’t have a collar, and they didn’t appear to be vaccinated. The owners could face charges for keeping "threatening and menacing" dogs and for allowing them to roam at will. They could also be charged for failure to license and vaccinate.
Chances are slim that the dogs' owner will ever be found. We certainly hope the person is located so that Ward can receive compensation. If he ever Google's his name and finds this story, we hope he sends DogsBite.org a photo of his pet pigs. When asked, Ward told reporters that he didn’t want to talk about the attack. "It’s not a big deal," he said. "It’s been taken care of."
But it is a big deal. Porkchop and Wilbur are gone.
Related articles:08/29/08:
Loose Dogs Kill Animals at El Paso Zoo06/27/08:
Pit Bull Snaps Chain, Attacks Show Calf in Missouri
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