CALIFORNIA -- Charges may be filed against a Benicia man whose dog bit another dog and its owner Tuesday night at a shopping center, a Benicia Police Department spokesman said.
Lt. Mike Daley said police got the call at about 7:15 p.m. in the Southampton Shopping Center. When officers arrived, they found a 69-year-old Benicia resident and his Airedale terrier with injuries.
"A 28-year-old Benicia resident man asked an 18-year-old female stranger to watch his pit bull while he went into Superstop to buy something," Daley said. "The dog did not have a leash, only a harness."
The dog headed toward a nearby Starbuck's, leading the woman by the harness, when it spotted the Airedale walking on a leash with its owner, near the H&R Block/Superstop, he said.
"The female could not hold the pit bull as it took off to attack the other dog," Daley said. "The victim attempted to stop the attack on his dog... by separating the dogs."
In the process, the man suffered a dog bite to his right thumb and right leg/knee area from the pit bull, he said.
Meanwhile, the pit bull's owner emerged from the store, separated his dog from its victims and quickly left the scene in a truck, Daley said.
The older man was taken by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment of his bites while his dog was taken to a veterinary hospital for treatment of injuries to its neck and ear, he said.
Police later located and contacted the younger man in his truck, who agreed to surrender his dog for quarantine, Daley said.
Benicia Police and Animal Control are investigating the event "to determine the extent of any criminal negligence in this incident," Daley said. "No arrests or citations have been issued at this time pending the completion of the investigation."
(Times-Herald - April 5, 2012)
