WASHINGTON DC -- A large dog on a leash bit and killed a five-pound Chihuahua on Tunlaw Road, in Northwest, D.C., Tuesday night. According to the Chihuahua's owner, the man walking the attacking dog then strolled away without saying a word.
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| RIP Freckles |
On Tuesday night around 10:30, Yates Baroody and Freckles, her nine-year-old Chihuahua, were sitting on the front porch of Baroody's home on the 2400 block of Tunlaw.
Sometimes, said Baroody, when another owner would walk a dog down Tunlaw, Freckles would run off the porch (to the edge of the wall supporting the lawn), and bark.
Sometimes, said Baroody, when another owner would walk a dog down Tunlaw, Freckles would run off the porch (to the edge of the wall supporting the lawn), and bark.
On this occasion, the other dog, which was very large, did not react well.
"I looked up, and she was in the dog's mouth," recounted Baroody tearfully. "I started screaming hysterically. I ran down there. I wrestled for about 20 seconds to get the dog -- to get [Freckles] -- out of the dog's mouth. And he was just shaking her around in her mouth. The owner didn't do one thing. [The owner] didn't move. He didn't pull his leash back. He didn't try to help me free her from his mouth."
Nine-year-old Freckles was dead. The man, without saying a word, continued walking his dog down Tunlaw Road, a neighbor told Baroody.
"I looked up, and she was in the dog's mouth," recounted Baroody tearfully. "I started screaming hysterically. I ran down there. I wrestled for about 20 seconds to get the dog -- to get [Freckles] -- out of the dog's mouth. And he was just shaking her around in her mouth. The owner didn't do one thing. [The owner] didn't move. He didn't pull his leash back. He didn't try to help me free her from his mouth."
Nine-year-old Freckles was dead. The man, without saying a word, continued walking his dog down Tunlaw Road, a neighbor told Baroody.
"I don't know how he watched me hold my dead dog in my arms, and he just took his [away]," said Baroody, shaking her head.
D.C. Police confirm they, along with animal control, are investigating the violent death of Freckles, but because their reports are incomplete, they cannot yet be made public.
D.C. Police confirm they, along with animal control, are investigating the violent death of Freckles, but because their reports are incomplete, they cannot yet be made public.
D.C. law permits sanctions against "dangerous dogs" and even "potentially dangerous dogs", but the law clearly states that any menacing, injury or death from a dog must occur "without provocation."
If the man and the large dog are identified, "provocation" could be a key issue, since the unleashed chihuahua did run up and bark at the pair.
Yates Baroody wants a complete investigation to determine whether the large dog is dangerous.
So far, no one has been issued a citation.
(Fox5 - May 14, 2012)
