CALIFORNIA -- A dog bit two girls and was shot by deputies when it turned on them, a Riverside County sheriff's lieutenant said today.
Lt. Terrence Tingle said a report of a "vicious dog" was made about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at a shopping center on 48th Avenue, east of Jackson Street.
"Officers learned the dog ... attacked two girls walking on the south sidewalk of 48th Avenue," Tingle said. "Officers found the dog outside a nearby restaurant and attempted to contain it while awaiting an animal control officer. The dog attacked the officers, compelling an officer to shoot the dog."
The deputies were not injured.
A 9-year-old girl was treated at Desert Regional Medical Center for a serious leg wound, and a 12-year-old girl was taken to a hospital by a family member for treatment of what were described as minor injuries, Tingle said.
The dog did not die when a deputy shot the 2-year-old male pit bull mix with a handgun, the lieutenant said. The animal, which was subsequently euthanized, had no identification tags or microchips, according to Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh, who said rabies testing would be done at a local lab.
Riverside County Animal Services Officer James Huffman found the dog hiding underneath some bushes near a Taco Bell restaurant on Tuesday night, Welsh said.
"He used a catch pole for his and others' safety when he impounded the dog. The dog suffered wounds to a front leg and one of its rear legs," he said.
The sheriff's department investigates all incidents in which an officer discharges a firearm, Tingle said.
Anyone with information about the dog attack is urged to call the sheriff's department at (760) 863-8990 or (760) 836-3215.
(My Valley News - August 24, 2011)
