OHIO -- A sheriff’s captain shot a pit bull in the face Tuesday after the dog reportedly charged toward him while the officer was on a call.
Sandusky County Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Meggitt and Deputy Mario Calvillo were dispatched to a trailer to handle a custody dispute at 7:07 p.m. in the 4600 block of North Ohio 19.
Calvillo arrived at the mobile home and talked with a woman holding a child in her arms. Two pit bulls inside the home pushed their way past the woman and ran outside past Calvillo to where Meggitt had been standing, according to the incident report.
“Almost instantaneously, I heard a gunshot nearby, heard a dog yelping and saw two dogs running back toward the front of a trailer,” Calvillo wrote in his report.
The dogs came charging toward Meggitt and Meggitt reportedly fired one shot into the lead dog, which caused both to turn around and run off.
Calvillo took the injured pit bull, which was bleeding from the mouth, and restrained it inside the residence. Meggitt retrieved a leash and secured the other pit bull to an outside antenna.
The dog’s owner arrived at the residence once the dogs were secured, according to the report.
“He was highly upset but soon calmed down once Captain Meggitt explained the situation,” Calvillo wrote.
Officers contacted an agent from the Sandusky County Humane Society and arranged to have the dog taken to an animal hospital.
The dog, a 3-year-old male pit bull named Diesel, received nine stitches in its cheek and left upper lip injuries.
Humane society shelter manager and animal cruelty investigator Kelly Askins said the dog was in good shape and good spirits following its treatment.
She said she had no problems with how the situation was handled by the officers.
“If they feel like they’re in danger of being attacked, then they have a right to protect themselves,” Askins said. “In this case, the dog did charge Captain Meggitt and he was fearful of being attacked.
“Given the situation, he did what he thought was necessary. I stand behind Captain Meggitt.”
Askins said the dog’s owner will have to pay the bill for treatment, but declined to specify how much was owed.
Calls left to the Sandusky County Sheriff’s Office were not immediately returned.
(Fremont News Messenger - Aug 8, 2013)
