Pit bull shot by police returns to Loveville area home

MARYLAND -- A dog that was shot and wounded by a law officer this week in St. Mary’s eventually came back home, officials report, and was taken to a veterinarian.

A Maryland State Police trooper fired a single shot at the large pit bull on Wednesday morning at the home off Loveville Road, according to the agency, after the dog attacked the law officer as she was responding to a report of an unconscious man at the residence.

The dog bit and snatched away the trooper’s baton before biting her on the foot, police report, and the dog ran away after being struck by the .40-caliber round.

The ailing relative of the dog’s owner was taken to a hospital, officials said this week, and when the injured dog returned home that night, its owner took it to a 24-hour veterinary service in Calvert County to be treated for the wound from the bullet fired by Trooper Allison Oyler.

The trooper, assigned to the agency’s Leonardtown barrack, responded shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday to the home at King Drive, where she found the nonresponsive man lying in the back door of the house, according to police. The dog charged and tried to bite the trooper as she entered the residence, and she struck the dog with the baton before it went outside.

The trooper was unable to close the door, however, because of the position of the unconscious man, police report, and moments later, the pit bull attacked her a second time, grabbing the baton and pulling it from her hand.

The dog dropped the baton and lunged at the trooper, biting her on the right foot, before she fired the pistol while in fear for her safety.

State police investigators responded to the scene, the agency reports, and interviewed area residents “who were familiar with the dog ... [and] revealed this pit bull has bitten others in the past.”

St. Mary’s animal control officers also responded to search the area for the wounded dog. They reportedly followed a trail of blood into a wooded area, but could not find the dog that later made it back home on its own.

(Somdnews.com - July 17, 2014)