Police shoot two pit bulls after owner attacked

MASSACHUSETTS -- Police fatally shot two pet pit bulls at a Brown Street house around 1 p.m. Saturday after one of the dogs attacked its owner.

The owner, Denise M. Sliger, 39, of 608 Brown St., remains hospitalized. She said the dog has attacked before.

In an interview Monday, Ms. Sliger said she was sitting on a couch when her 5-year-old pit bull, Papa Dog, grabbed her leg with his mouth. Ms. Sliger said the dog pulled her onto the floor, dragged her around and bit her on both arms and her right leg.

Her other 10-year-old pit bull, Sky, was nearby.

Ms. Sliger said she was able to grab her cell phone during the attack.

“It took forever to dial 911,” she said.

The front door was locked and police had to break into the home, according to a news release from Winchendon police. When officers arrived, they saw the dog mauling the woman, it said.

Officer Richard Oinonen said Papa Dog approached him aggressively and he feared the dog was going to attack him. When he shot Papa Dog, the release said, Sky started to approach him aggressively.

Officer Oinonen then turned the gun on Sky and shot her, according to Ms. Sliger.

Ms. Sliger said she is not upset with the officer for shooting her dogs.

“I was screaming for them to shoot them,” she said.

Ms. Sliger was transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center – University Campus, Worcester, where she is being treated for bite wounds. She said she expects to be released from the hospital Tuesday.

She was home alone at the time of the attack.

Ms. Sliger said Papa Dog bit his previous owner last winter and the woman was treated at the hospital for bite wounds.

Ms. Sliger said she and the 23-year-old Fitchburg woman are friends and she took Papa Dog as a favor and kept him away from other people. The woman, who Ms. Sliger did not identify, had Papa Dog since he was a pup, she said.

Although she said she is not upset with police, she said she was sad to lose Sky.

“She did not have a mean bone in her body,” she said. “I believe Papa Dog was attacking me and she (Sky) was trying to protect me,” she said.

Ms. Sliger said she has owned pit bulls her entire life and she does not feel people should fear the breed.

Ms. Sliger’s father, Irvin W. Sliger, 94, of Groton, said his daughter was “bloody all over” from the attack when he first saw her at the hospital.

“That dog has been a friend of hers for years,” he said. “She (Sky) has never been aggressive.”

Mr. Sliger said he was glad police shot the dog attacking his daughter.

(Worcester Telegram - Oct 13, 2015)