GEORGIA -- A Mesa Street resident had to fire a handgun on Wednesday to save a neighbor’s dog from two pit bulls that were attacking it, police said.
Police initially were summoned about 2 p.m. to the 2400 block of Mesa Street on a report of shots fired, and there spoke with Robin Whitledge Jr., who told them he was in his backyard when he heard dogs growling in front of his home. So, he went out front and saw two black and white pit bulls attacking a neighbor’s dog.
“Mr. Whitledge stated he went and got his baseball bat, but realized that was not going to make the dogs stop fighting and backed off,” police reported.
So his father, Robin Whitledge Sr., came outside with a .38-caliber revolver and fired two shots at the pit bulls, which ran away, officers said.
They spoke with another neighbor who confirmed that she also saw the two pit bulls attacking the other dog, and saw the senior Whitledge fire the gun to scare them off.
Columbus Animal Control was called out to search for the pit bulls, and the owner of the dog that was attacked came and took what police described as her husky and pit-bull mix to a veterinary hospital.
Though discharging a firearm within the city limits is illegal, the elder Whitledge was not charged, “due to the fact that he was trying to stop his neighbor’s dog from being attacked,” police said.
(Ledger-Enquirer - Dec 23, 2011)
