ALABAMA -- A man and a child went to the hospital following a pit bull attack Wednesday, Decatur police and animal control officers said.
The dog, which weighed about 60 pounds, died at a veterinary clinic after being shot by police, animal control officer Miles Naylor said.
Police spokesman Lt. John Crouch said officers went to the 100 block of Sixth Avenue Southwest at about noon after receiving multiple calls about a dog attacking a man.
“By the time our officers got there, one of the two victims had the dog and was holding it on the ground,” Crouch said. “Before the officers could do anything, the dog got away from the man and started toward bystanders. At that point, the officers shot the dog.”
Crouch said three shots were fired from a shotgun.
The victims, whose names had not been released, were taken to Parkway Medical Center. The man suffered injuries to his forearm and hand, and the child got scratches, Naylor said.
Tracy Pylant and Murray Hartsfield said they saw two girls leading the dog, which had gotten loose from a house further south on Sixth Avenue, back down the street.
Pylant said he suspected the dog was excited by a female pit bull in heat at a residence up the street.
The dog began nipping at one of the girls and then began biting, Pylant said, and that’s when the girl’s father came running.
“He hit him probably eight to 10 times,” he said. “The dog was jumping at him and he was popping it on the head.”
Hartsfield said the dog got a hold of the man, and a neighbor hit the dog across the nose with a stick, trying to get it to let go.
“The dog had a hold of his arm, just ripping him to shreds,” Pylant said.
Pylant said the man finally gained control of the dog and held it down until police arrived.
“When the cops got here, he let him loose. He might not have had much choice about that. The cops shot the dog three times, and he passed out,” Pylant said.
Hartsfield said the shots didn’t put the dog down.
“Looked like it broke one of his legs,” he said. “He was still walking. They walked him to the truck.”
Naylor said the dog didn’t cause any problems during transit or at the vet’s office.
The dog’s remains are being tested for rabies, he said.
(Decatur Daily - Dec 22, 2011)
