Loose pit bull kills 5-month-old Shiba Inu puppy in Hollis

MAINE --  A 5-month old Shiba Inu puppy – a small-breed Japanese dog – was attacked and killed Wednesday night by a pit bull in Hollis.

Louis Marchand, the animal control officer for Hollis and Limington, said Thursday the attack happened near the Salmon Falls Library around 6 p.m.

Rob Rocheville was walking his puppy in the woods along the Saco River when two dogs, one of them a white pit bull with brown spots, came running up to them, said Rocheville’s fiancee, Lynn Holston. She said she did not witness the attack herself, but Rocheville told her the pit bull began sniffing the puppy and suddenly lunged at it.

RIP little guy

The puppy, which weighed about 15 pounds, came out of its harness and jumped into the river to get away from the pit bull but, according to Holston, the pit bull jumped in after him.

Her fiance, she says, jumped in and tried to wrestle the puppy away from the pit bull.

“The pit bull got hold of the puppy’s hind leg and wouldn’t let go,” she said. “My boyfriend did everything he could to try to save him.”

Holston said the puppy died in Rocheville’s arms, but the pit bull still hadn’t released its grip, and Rocheville finally let go.

“When he realized (the puppy) was gone, he started to run because he wasn’t sure if the dog was going to attack him,” she said. “The last thing he saw was the (pit bull) swimming away with the puppy in his mouth.”

Holston said the puppy’s remains have not been recovered.

Rocheville could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Holston said Rocheville received initial medical treatment Wednesday night for cuts, scratches and a puncture wound on his hand, and was being seen by a doctor again on Thursday morning.

The couple had recently bought the puppy, named Havoc, for her 6-year old son, Ashton. Holston says Ashton asked her Thursday morning where Havoc was and she told him he had been chased away by another dog and he was lost.

“So then he got Havoc’s favorite squeaky toy out and said ‘He’ll hear this and he’ll come back,’ ” Holston said, crying.

Marchand, the animal control officer, said the pit bull’s owner, Mitch Marquis, 21, of Hollis, has been issued a summons to appear in court on Jan. 20 on a charge of having a dangerous dog and allowing an animal to run at large.

The pit bull and the other dog that was with him will be quarantined in Marquis’ home for 10 days to make sure neither of them is rabid, Marchand said. Marquis did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

(WCSH-TV - Oct 17, 2015)