Pit bull fatally stabbed at Auburn park

WASHINGTON -- When is a pit bull aggressive? And, if you misjudge a pit bull -- in either direction-- who pays the price? If it's aggressive and mean, a pit bull could cause damage. But pit bull owners say it's possible to misread the dog.

 The debate over whether pit bulls are dangerous is nothing new, but the discussion took a new turn after what happened at a dog park in Auburn Monday afternoon.

 Malia Moniz and Nicole Young brought their two pit bulls to Roegner off-leash park. One was an energetic, overgrown puppy named Cain.

 The two dogs were playing when a man and his English bulldog came into the area. The two women say the man got nervous when Cain and his dog growled and nipped at one another. He picked up his dog and yelled to them to get theirs as Cain started jumping on him.

"I don't know if it was like Cain was trying to play still or he was trying to get the dog, but he was jumping at the guy." They insist it was just Cain showing his puppy energy.

 But then, they say, the man was on top of Cain, and swinging his arm. "We thought he was punching Cain," Nicole said, "but then he stood up he had a knife in his hand." The man had stabbed Cain four times. The dog died minutes later.

 The women want the man arrested. Auburn police say they have spoken to him. "He broke down and he was pretty upset. He said he did not mean to kill the dog," said Commander Mike Hermin of the Auburn Police Department. "He did feel really bad when he found out the dog had died."

Commander Hermin says the man appeared to have teeth marks on his hand and arm, but nothing that caused bleeding. The women say he may have gotten it from their playful pup. Other dog owners at the park the next day said they would expect a malicious, angry bite from a pit bull to leave more of a mark than that.

 Malia and Nicole remember how Cain slowly drained of life after the stabbing. They say he didn't really make a sound, just stopped moving. As they struggled to carry him to their car and get him to a vet, they saw his eyes start to flutter and roll. They tear up at the thought, and they said they believe the man overreacted, and that they believe he had such a drastic reaction just because Cain was a pit bull.

They believe if Cain would have acted exactly the same but had been a Lab or a retriever or another dog the same size, the man would not have done what he did. "I don't think he would have pulled the knife out," they both said.

 Police say they don't know what exactly happened, "What he told us - he thought his dog was going to be killed by the pit bull." They are now trying to contact a witness who has not yet returned their calls. Once they reach her, they will decide whether to recommend charges.

(KIRO Seattle - Oct 30, 2013)