GEORGIA — Two pit bull dogs have been put down at the Forsyth County Animal Shelter after they killed a horse in a pasture in the northwest portion of the county.
The dogs' quarantine ended Friday, Oct. 21 and on Monday, Oct. 24, they "were classified as dangerous and had to be destroyed," said veterinarian Lanier Orr, who runs the animal shelter.
The Forsyth County Animal Shelter is not controlled by the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office's Animal Control.
When the Forsyth Animal Control Board reviewed the case and declared the dogs "dangerous," the owner, Melissa Andrews, or anyone wanting to adopt the animals, had to build a double walled fenced-in area with concrete floors and a top to prevent them from digging or climbing out.
The person wanting to reclaim the animals must also put up a $50,000 surety bond on each of the animals.
"We can't adopt them out unless somebody does that," Orr said. "So that pretty well sentenced them."
The pit bulls would still have to live penned up all of their lives, Orr said.
"We waited until the board made their decision," Orr said. "We couldn't keep them."
The county's animal control law defines a dangerous dog as, "any dog that without provocation bites a human being or domesticated animal."
Andrews was charged with one count of failure to vaccinate and two counts of animal at large, all misdemeanors.
Horse killed in pasture
About 5 p.m. Oct. 11, a driver called 911 after he saw the two pit bulls attacking the horse, Trigger, an American Paint Horse — a breed of horse that combines the characteristics of a western stock horse with a pinto spotting pattern of white and dark coat colors.
"When the deputy arrived, the two animals were still attacking this horse," said Forsyth County Sheriff's Lt. David Waters.
The deputy entered the pasture at 3620 Watson Road and spooked the pit bulls back to their property.
Deputies tried to stop Trigger, a 14-month-old that weighed about 750 pounds, from bleeding and attended to the horse in steady rain for six hours.
Orr was called to the scene to help save the life of the horse.
"They tried to apply medical gauze and other medical supplies to try to stop the bleeding of this horse and to save its life," Waters said.
Orr said Trigger had lost so much blood from deep wounds on his face, mouth and chest area as well as his front and back quarters.
The horse was in so much shock that it would not have survived. The animal was also too weak to be transported. At 11 p.m., Trigger died.
"Our deputies tried their best to save the life of this horse," he said.
The two pit bulls were later captured and quarantined for 10 days, expiring Oct. 21.
"It's certainly one of the worst attacks I've ever seen," Waters said, who has been in law enforcement for 33 years. "I've seen lots of attacks from different breeds of dogs, but never to the point of death regarding a horse."
(Appen Newspaper - November 06, 2011)
