The two pit bull dogs were shot on north Wheeler Avenue after the Sallisaw Police Department received a call from a woman who felt threatened by them.
Police Chief Shaloa Edwards said the caller felt threatened by the two dogs and closed herself in her horse trailer and called from there.
“When the animal control officer got there, the dogs came at him aggressively and he shot them. One of them got up and came after the officer after being shot,” Edwards said.
Jessica Barnett said her two pits, Sobe, 4, and Spade, 8, had never shown any signs of aggression.
Edwards said Bridgewater had received a previous call at 12:30 p.m. about two dogs, a white one and a brown one, that had chased two residents into their home on East Badger Lee Road.
The caller said he fired a shotgun at the ground between the dogs to scare them off.
Less than a half-hour later, Bridgewater received the second call, where the woman had taken refuge in a horse trailer.
“I tell all of my officers don’t get bit by a dog,” said Edwards. “If the dog charges you discharge your weapon.”
Bridgewater reported the brown dog was the first to charge him. When the animal was about 10 yards away from the officer he fired one shot from a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with birdshot.
The white dog charged and was also shot. Bridgewater reported the brown dog had to be shot twice.
Barnett claims the dogs were not charging the officers when they were shot, but were shot broadside and then shot in the back of the head with a second weapon.
“They were both shot three times. Neither had ever caused anyone bodily injury,” Barnett said.
“I want something done about the shooting because of breed fear. We are a big enough town where we should have someone educated about the animals as our animal control officer. It’s all in how these animals are raised,” she said.
Barnett is circulating a petition to stop animal control officers from this type of killing.
Edwards said that as per city code, Bridgewater was well within his authority to shoot the dogs.
“We don’t go around shooting dogs, even pit bulls,” he said. “We’ve only had to shoot maybe four or five in the last 10 years. When they are that aggressive there’s not much to do.”
(Sequoyah County Times and 5newsonline)
