PENNSYLVANIA -- A West Mahanoy Township police officer was forced to shoot a family dog after it attacked another dog owned by the same couple on Tuesday morning.
Police were called to the township village of Brownsville, located west of Shenandoah, shortly before 8 a.m. about two dogs fighting on a front porch at 1301 W. Penn St.
When Patrolman Ray Tonkinson arrived, he found a pit bull aggressively attacking a chocolate Labrador - pit bull mix. Both dogs were of similar size.
“The pit bull was ripping the other dog apart when I got there,” Tonkinson said. “The pit bull had to be put down.”
The owners of both dogs are Christopher Brown and Annie Hornberger, who also own three other dogs at that address.
Tonkinson said no people were attacked during the incident.
After the attacking dog was killed, the surviving dog was taken by the state dog warden to the Ringtown Valley Veterinarian Hospital, where it is being treated.
Brown and Hornberger spoke of the incident and are sad about the loss of their female pit bull named Princess and the injuries to the other female dog named Bella. Both were acquired as rescue dogs and were about 2 to 3 years old, spayed and microchipped.
“I was at work and my girlfriend left out one of the dogs (Lab),” Brown said. “The other dog got out of the cage and they got in at it. She couldn’t separate them, so the police were called. The police shot the pit bull and the other dog is at the vet.”
As for the Labrador’s condition, Brown said, “Right now she’s staying for observation, but she should be able to pull through. They have her intravenously taking fluids. There are a couple of stitches in the mouth.”
Hornberger said that all five dogs are taken well care of, though two dogs have medical conditions.
“All my dogs have had their shots, including for rabies, and they all have food,” Hornberger said. “Because one dog has a skin condition and another has colitis, there are some people who say my dogs have rabies. The dog warden saw the records for the shots and the licenses, and if I didn’t have them, I would have been fined and my other dogs would have been taken away from me.”
Hornberger said that there wasn’t much she could do in separating the dogs.
“There are neighbors here who wanted me to separate two pit bulls and keep three other dogs tame plus keep my five-year-old son away from the fight,” Hornberger said. “What am I going to do at 90 pounds against two dogs? I can only do so much, and I think I did what I could to protect my son and the other three dogs.”
“I’m an animal lover, but I’d rather see the animal get put down than have my stepson in the middle of it,” Brown said.
“Maybe if I would had help during the first 20 minutes, I could have saved her (Princess),” Hornberger said. “It got started about 20 minutes after 7. When it got out of control, I just couldn’t get her mouth open and get the other dog away. I was here screaming and crying for help.”
Hornberger usually lets each of the five dogs outside separately, but she said they all get along with each other.
“By the time I opened the front door, both of the dogs were out. Well, Bella jumps to play, so she started to play and the pit didn’t know it,” Hornberger said. “I tried to calm them down. I feel terrible because I couldn’t separate them.”
Hornberger was visibly upset in describing what happened and shed tears about the loss of Princess and the injuries to Bella.
“I wish I could have done more,” she said. “I’d do anything for any of my dogs, and it hurts to have to stand there and watch and not be able to help either one of them.”
“There are no charges at this time,” Tonkinson said. “The dog warden will be reviewing the paperwork on the dogs. Everything happened on private property and no people were attacked.”
(Republican & Herald - September 17, 2014)
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