11/21-25/08 Pit Bulls Shot by Police

#370: Claremont Officer Shoots Pit Bull After Chase
11/25/08 | Claremont, MN
Summary: A Claremont man faces criminal charges after allegedly leading police on a high-speed chase that included going through the Saint Marys Hospital emergency entrance. The chase ended in rural Rochester with an officer shooting an attacking pit bull. Adam Joseph Saxton, 26, is charged with felony fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle and misdemeanor driving after revocation. After the incident, officers tried to locate the wounded pit bull without success.

#371: Portland Officer Shoots, Kills Attacking Pit Bull
11/25/08 | Portland, OR
Summary: Officers were called after a report that two pit bulls got into the yard of a home and attacked three dogs. The officers arrived to find one of the three dogs already dead. At least one of the pit bulls reportedly charged the officers. This dog was shot and killed. The other pit bull ran off. Police said one of the two remaining dogs died at the scene. The other was also injured. Investigators have not found the owners of the pit bulls.
Pit bulls killed: 1

NOTE: Pit Bull Owner Gets Felony After K9 Attack
11/25/08 | Midvale, UT
Summary: A dog owner whose pit bull attacked a police K9 has been charged with a felony. William Knowlton, 26, was charged in 3rd District Court. On November 4, police K9 "Kasch," a Belgian Malinois, was with his handler, officer Kresdon Bennett, who was assisting on a call. While standing outside arguing with the officers, Knowlton opened the door to his house, allowing his pit bull to exit. The pit bull attacked Kasch, who got six staples to his head afterward.

#372: Aurora Officer Shoots Pit Bull
11/24/08 | Aurora, IL
Summary: An Aurora police patrol officer was forced to shoot a pit bull that charged him while the officer was addressing an incident he had come upon during routine patrol. The animal charged the officer and leaped at him. From a distance of about three feet, the officer fired his duty weapon and a single bullet hit the dog in the face. The dog, which was not killed, retreated and eventually hid in a doghouse. At the request of the dog's owners, the animal was taken by authorities and euthanized.

#373: Attacking Pit Bull Shot in San Antonio
11/22/08 | San Antonio, TX
Summary: A police officer shot and killed a pit bull shortly after the animal killed a cat and another dog in a West Side neighborhood. Resident David Avila said he witnessed the white pit bull attack the dog and cat a few houses down from his home. "We have reported that dog to authorities two or three times over the past month," he said. "I’m glad the police officer did what he did. What if it wasn’t a cat or dog that pit bull killed? It could have been one of my granddaughters."
Pit bulls killed: 1

#374: Toledo Police Shoot, Kill Pit Bull
11/21/08 | Toledo, OH
Summary: A pit bull was shot and killed upsetting the dog's owners. The Toledo SWAT team showed up at the dog owner's home, Sean Gillespie, to arrest a friend that was renting a room at his house. Gillespie said that when SWAT team members entered his home, his dog Jozie ran into the front yard. The rest of the circumstances are unclear. Police Chief Mike Navarre says the shooting will be investigated by the officers' supervisors before the incident goes to the firearms review board.
Pit bulls killed: 1

#375: Attacking Pit Bull in Happy Valley Shot
11/21/08 | Happy Valley, OR
Summary: Four grown men -- one with a baseball bat -- tried to stop a pit bull that was attacking a 7-year old girl. The father of the girl, Steven Hehr, nearly lost his fingers trying to save his daughter. Hehr was able to wrestle the dog, eventually pinning it to the ground, but was bitten in the process. As he struggled to hold the dog down, two other men took turns beating the dog with a baseball bat. A Clackamas deputy arrived, who shot and killed the dog. Read full story.
Pit bulls killed: 1

#376: Citizen Shoots Pit Bull in Florida
11/21/08 | Lake Worth, FL
Summary: Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reports that a girl was walking to house to get a ride to school. A pit bull named Lucky had broken off his chain and followed the girl. The girl reached the yard of the house, but was threatened by the dog. A man at the house fired a bb gun at the dog to scare him off. The dog left but then returned and entered the home and attacked the family's beagle. The man shot the dog with a bb gun again. Then he grabbed his 9mm and shot the dog dead.
Pit bulls killed: 1