FLORIDA -- Paul Stucke heard the commotion of dogs fighting in his back yard this afternoon.
He went out back and saw two pit bulls attacking his 6-year-old mixed breed dog, Dixie. When he tried to separate the dogs, the pit bulls went after him, according to his wife, Sharon.
So he shot and killed one of the pit bulls, she said.
After her husband shot the pit bull, the couple rushed Dixie to an animal hospital, but his injuries were too extensive. The dog was euthanized.
"We got Dixie when our son Justin was 3," said Sharon Stucke. "Dixie was his best friend."
Hillsborough County Animal Services cited Dorothy York, the owner of the two dogs, for the dogs being vicious, being at-large and having expired dog tags and vaccinations. York, 36, of 801 Bills Circle, Brandon, faces several thousand dollars in fines and a court date, said Marti Ryan, animal services spokeswoman.
This was not the first time that Red, the female pit bull that was shot, had been the focus of an investigation, Ryan said. In August, Red bit a 71-year-old man, but that person waived prosecution, she said.
Animal services sent York a letter at the time that they were aware that her dog could be aggressive and she should take precautions.
"If she had been more responsible in the first place, that might have been the prevention," Ryan said. "She's the owner and the ultimate party responsible for these animals."
On Wednesday, animal services also confiscated York's male pit bull, Smoke, but she hasn't relinquished ownership of the dog, Ryan said. She could also go to court to try to regain custody of the dog.
The case remains under investigation, Ryan said.
This afternoon, the Stucke family was shaken.
Paul Stucke was trying to calm down after watching his dog die, then being attacked and having to kill an animal.
Sharon Stucke was trying to figure out how to tell Justin, who was in school at the time, the bad news.
"How do you tell a little boy that his best friend was killed by another dog?" she asked. "How do you deal with that?"
(TBO - Jan 20, 2010)
