Mike Rigney was in tears Friday evening as he spoke about his dog Puff, which is in stable condition at a local vet. Good friends with the wolf hybrid's owner, Rigney said he never gave a second thought to the kind of dogs his friend kept until Thursday night. Even now, he harbors no ill will.
"He's not my dog," Rigney said of Puff. "I belong to him. He adopted me."
Rigney said he was called out to work at Eastern State Hospital around midnight Thursday and his dog rode with him. When they got home close to 1 a.m., he said Puff headed for the backyard so Rigney went inside to get settled.
A few minutes later there was a bang at the screen door, then a yelp, according to Rigney. He went to the door to let Puff in and that's when he saw the hybrid.
"It was standing over Puff and just looked at me," he said. "Puff was still and I thought he was being submissive, but then the dog picked him up and showed him to me."
Rigney said it was like a dog showing off a rabbit or something else he caught. A long-time dog lover, he said the behavior just didn't seem normal. Blood stains remain on Rigney's porch from the attack. He said the hybrid took a chunk out of his dog's throat and seriously wounded him beneath his neck.
Based on the attacks, the intent of officers sent to locate the hybrid "was to find the dog and destroy it," said Stephanie Williams-Ortery with James City County Police. "Based on its aggressive nature toward the officers it was warranted."
Brett Charbeneau, the hybrid's owner, said he adopted the 12-month-old hybrid puppy 10 days ago as a playmate for his other "low-content wolf hybrid."
He said she was antsy, but showed no signs of aggression. He said he'd put his dogs outside Thursday evening and about 10 minutes later the female puppy had dug under a privacy fence and got out of the yard. He searched for the dog and saw her a few times, but was unable to catch her. He consulted with the rescue in New Jersey where he got her and was advised she would likely follow her scent trail home if he left the hole open, so he did.
"She didn't come back at dawn," he said. "I didn't see her again until she had already been shot."
James City Animal Control called after the fact to tell him the hybrid had been killed, according to Charbeneau. He said he had no reason to believe she would behave in an aggressive way or even leave the property. He's glad James City took action.
"If I'd been there, I would have shot her too," he said. Rigney said Charbeneau volunteered to pay for his dog's veterinary bills and even microchip Rigney's pet. Charbeneau said he has reached out to the family of the dog that was killed to "if nothing else share in their grief," but they have not responded.
(Virginia Gazette - Oct 18, 2013)
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