Gilroy Police are looking the owner of a dog that was attacked
by a pit bull. Police shot and killed the pit bull Monday night in
the back yard of a home on the 500 block of West Ninth Street after
it attacked a dachshund.
Gilroy Police are looking the owner of a dog that was attacked by a pit bull.
Police shot and killed the pit bull Monday night in the back yard of a home on the 500 block of West Ninth Street after it attacked a dachshund.
The wounded dog is recovering after it was taken to an emergency veterinarian, officer Chad Gallacinao said. The occupant of the home where the attack occurred did not own either of the dogs, and the injured dog’s owner has yet to be found, he said.
The owner of the pit bull, who lives on 10th Street, was cited and released.
Police responded to the incident at 7:34 p.m., after a homeowner reported the pit bull was attacking another dog in his back yard. When police arrived, the homeowner said the gray male pit bull was “killing” the other dog.
Officers used pepper spray to try to stop the attack, according to police.
The smaller dog’s breath started to become shallow, an indicator that it was possibly suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Police asked children who had been playing outside to go inside while they were handling the situation to ensure that no one was injured, Gallacinao said.
After positioning themselves to ensure that no life or personal property would be damaged, a Gilroy police officer fired one shot from his handgun and struck the pit bull, police said. The shot stopped the attack and killed the pit bull.
Though officers must sometimes take time off work when firing a weapon at humans, that was not necessary in this case, Gallacinao said.
“(The officer) was in compliance with all policies and procedures,” he said. “There was a supervisory review and everything on face value looks good.”
The owner of the pit bull called police to report a lost dog, allowing police to track him down, Gallacinao said. The fence of the yard where the attack occurred appeared to be unsecured, Gallacinao said.
Police are still trying to track down the owner of the dog, Gallacinao said.
Anyone with information on the dachshund or its owner is urged to call police at 846-0300.
