NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Keene police shot a dog Saturday afternoon in response to three pit bulls attacking and trying to kill a golden retriever, according to Sgt. Thaddeus “T.J.” Derendal.
The shooting came after one of the people with the dogs reported to police that the pit bulls had attacked the retriever while out on a walk on a trail off Graves Road, south of Route 101, he said.
Police do not know the conditions of the two dogs that were injured: the retriever, which was attacked, and one of the pit bulls, which was shot.
According to Derendal, Kaitlin Adams, 29, of Richmond had been walking the pit bulls with Jessica Jahne, 26, of Marlborough, who was walking the retriever, according to Derendal. None of the animals were on leashes, he said.
Sometime during the walk, the pit bulls turned on the retriever and began attacking it together, at which point one of the women called police, according to Derendal.
Police responded to the reported attack shortly before 5 p.m., Derendal said. When officers arrived, the attack had stopped and Adams had secured the three pit bulls in her arms, according to Derendal.
But when police approached, two of the pit bulls got loose, Derendal said. They ran in the direction of the police officers, but then saw the retriever, which was between Adams and the officers, according to Derendal.
The dogs then began attacking the retriever again, with one mauling the retriever’s head and the other attacking its neck, Derendal added.
That’s when the police officers — Peter R. Bowers and Luke Antin — aimed and fired, Derendal said. Each officer fired one shot; one bullet hit one of pit bulls and one bullet missed, according to Derendal.
The police report does not make clear where the officers were in relation to the dogs and their owners when they fired the shots, Derendal said. But he stressed that the officers are trained to fire only when the backdrop behind the target — in this case, the dogs — is clear of people.
After the shots were fired, the pit bulls fled from the retriever and were rounded up by Adams, Derendal said.
The retriever suffered serious injuries in the neck, body, legs and head, Derendal said.
Both the retriever and the shot pit bull were taken to a Concord veterinary hospital by the owners, according to Derendal. Police don’t know which hospital the dogs were taken to, he said.
The Sentinel called three Concord veterinary hospitals this morning. An employee with the Center for Advanced Veterinary Care, which has a location in Concord, said that no dogs matching those owners had come through Saturday night. Two other hospitals could not immediately provide information.
Neither Adams nor Jahne could be reached by press time this morning.
Barry Hilton, the animal control officer for Keene police, said he would be following up on the dogs’ conditions today.
(Sentinel Source - March 6, 2017)
