BIDDEFORD, ME -- Police say the dog bit the officer and was about to attack a second time. The owner says that's not true.
A Biddeford police officer shot a pit bull to death Friday after the dog bit him on the leg and then tried to attack him a second time, police said.
Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk said the dog lunged and bit the officer in the left thigh when he got out of his patrol car shortly after 11 a.m. while responding to a complaint on Pool Street.
Someone had reported that a person charged with domestic violence was violating bail conditions.
Fisk said that when the dog tried to bite the officer a second time, the officer shot it.
Fisk would not release the name of the officer, who was not seriously hurt and returned to duty.
Fisk said Rowe and her dog had been involved in several incidents:
• A police report from March 19, 2010, says that Rowe's tan pit bull bit her 11-year-old daughter on the left arm, said Fisk, who added she believes that was the same dog that was killed Friday.
• In March of this year, Rowe was given a warning that her dog was running at large and chasing people, Fisk said.
• On Wednesday, an officer issued a warning about Rowe's dog after neighbors complained earlier in the week that the dog was running loose, defecating on their driveway and frightening them, according to police records.
(Portland Press Herald - July 16, 2011)
[NOTE: I find it oddly amusing that alongside this article at the Portland Press Herald, they've got a pit bull up in the corner, advising people to adopt him. Ha!]
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