Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog

Man shoots bear chasing pet dog

Rusvinder S. Sandhu, of Route 79, Colesville, shot and wounded a black bear who was chasing his pet dog around 1:18 a.m. Sunday.

After he let out his one-year-old Belgian Shepard to go to the bathroom, Sandhu heard incessant barking and upon looking out a sliding door with a flash light he found a medium sized black bear chasing the pet around the backyard, police said.

Sandhu retrieved a 7 mm magnum bolt action rifle and fired a single shot striking the bear in the neck and dropping him under a bird feeder, police said.

The bear was still alive when Broome County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Mauser arrived, but the animal had to be dispatched with one 12 gauge shotgun slug for safety and humane purposes.

Sandhu told Mauser he was unaware bears in his area, but was now was able to figure out why his bird feeder had been knocked out of its location in a tree, according to a police report.

Labels: animal, NY

Landscaper shoots rabid fox after attacks

A rabid fox was shot Friday in the Pine Mill Subdivision off of Pinetta Road, making it the second confirmed animal with rabies in the county this year.

The fox was seen acting strangely in the neighborhood last Thursday, prompting residents to call Gloucester Animal Control, said M.B. Sheppard, the county's Environmental Health Supervisor. But deputies were unable to find the fox and advised residents that if the fox was spotted again and acting similarly to shoot it.

On Friday, the fox first attacked two adult dogs that were penned up and then two puppies playing in a ditch and exposed the two puppies to rabies, Sheppard said. A landscaper working in the subdivision saw the fox and borrowed a homeowner's shotgun before killing the animal. Tests later confirmed the fox was rabid.

A 9-year-old girl who came in contact with the puppies is undergoing post-exposure rabies treatment, Sheppard said.

Labels: animal, VA

An El Mirage boy celebrating his 10th birthday with his family at an Arizona national forest was attacked by a rabid mountain lion Saturday afternoon.

The boy's uncle shot the animal in time for the boy to escape with only minor scratches on his back.

The victim, Paul John Schalow, and family members who were exposed to the infected lion will start a series of post-exposure rabies shots as a health precaution, said Randy Babb, a biologist with the Arizona Game & Fish Department.

...

Paul and his family told officials they were taking a lunch break after riding their ATVs near Bloody Basin Road and Sheep Bridge. Newton Smith said two of his grandkids, Paul, 10, and Brittany, 9, were playing at a campsite when a mountain lion walked in between them. The four remaining family members stood about 10 feet from the lion.

Smith said the lion scratched Paul on his shoulder, drawing blood. The rabid animal then opened its mouth and put its teeth on Paul's head. The lion finally stepped away from the boy and looked at him while opening his mouth.

Paul's uncle reportedly shot the lion, which was an older female, loaded it in the family's truck and took it to the family's home in El Mirage.

Labels: animal, AZ

Unwelcome visitor: Bentleys briefly host invading coyote

Authorities on the subject say that coyotes avoid human contact.

On their Web site, Missouri Department of Conservation says, "Typically shy, elusive animals, coyotes don't normally pose a threat to humans. Most people who live in areas of high coyote populations rarely see one."

Apparently, the coyote that invaded the home of Lloyd and Rosamae Bentley in late December doesn't own a computer.

The Bentleys were enjoying a quiet evening at home when Lloyd heard a thump on the wall outside the front window. Then his two dogs started barking. One of the dogs is part husky, the other a beagle. Bentley said the beagle is "a little dog, but he barks big."

When Bentley opened the front door, he spotted a coyote lurking between the bushes and the window. Accompanied by a chorus of barking and yelping from the two dogs, he went back into the house to get a broom, hoping to shoo the coyote away.

By the time he got back outside, the dogs had cornered the animal on the porch. Realizing the broom wouldn't be of much use, Bentley went back inside the house to get his shotgun.

When he opened the door again, the by-now panicked coyote quickly slipped past him into the living room, and, spotting the fireplace, tried to take cover inside it. Unfortunately for the coyote, the fireplace is screened.

After that, the situation rapidly deteriorated into chaos.

As his wife blocked the coyote's access to the rest of the house, Bentley went after it, opening the living room door in the vain hope the intruder would run for safety, but that didn't work, either. "He wouldn't have none of that," Bentley said.

With the coyote now cowering behind a chair in the living room, Bentley grabbed a fireplace poker and took a mighty whack at the animal, but, he said, "He didn't go down." Wielding a larger poker, Bentley finally connected, but still, "He wouldn't go down." It took another blow or two, resulting in a bent poker, to finally stun the coyote to the point where Bentley could handle it.

He was eventually able to drag the mangy-looking animal outside, where he shot it.

More

Labels: animal, MO

Pennsylvania: Man Shoots, Kills Bobcat That Attacked His Pet Goat

A man shot and killed a bobcat, after the bobcat attacked one of his pet goats.

The attack happened around 9 a.m. Thursday in a remote area of Conemaugh Township in Somerset County.

The man said he shot the bobcat because he was protecting his pet. The goat, Brownie, only suffered a few cuts.

The man said he was worried if he just got the bobcat to go outside the fence that it would come back later and hurt Brownie.

Game commission officials told Channel 11’s sister-station WJAC, that to spot a bobcat is very rare, but to have one in a back yard and come just 6 feet away is even more unlikely. Bobcats rarely come out during the day, but they are predators.

The game commission plans on picking up the bobcat on Friday.

Labels: animal, PA

Man kills attacking pit bull

A Tamarac man shot and killed a pit bull named Trouble after the dog escaped from its nearby home and attacked him on Thursday.

Here is what happened, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office:

Around 5:20 p.m. Trouble broke through a screen on the rear patio at a home on the 4500 block of Northwest 16th Way. Children playing nearby screamed, ``Trouble is out.''

Hearing the commotion, Paulo Jean, 35, stepped outside his home next door. Trouble attacked him, biting his buttocks and both arms. Jean pulled a .380 semiautomatic handgun from his pants pocket and fired three shots.

Trouble died at the scene.

Jean was taken to Broward General Medical Center with serious injuries.

Broward County Animal Care and Regulation removed the dead dog and took another dog that also got loose from the same residence. The dogs' owner was not at home when the attack occurred.

Jean had a valid concealed weapons permit.

Further links: Man shoots, kills attacking pit bull named Trouble

Labels: animal, concealed carry permit, FL

80-year-old woman shoots mountain lion in her yard

Eighty-year-old Martha Smith admits she was a little nervous when she walked out of her house to shoot a mountain lion snarling at her in her ranch house yard.

It was about 4:30 p.m. last Thursday and the light was already fading when she heard her dog barking outside her house south of Fairburn. Smith looked outside and saw a mountain lion in her garden.

Worried about the dog’s safety, she grabbed her .22 rifle, walked outside and took a shot at the lion but missed.

She went back inside and called 911 but the dispatcher had trouble finding someone from Game, Fish & Parks.

So Smith, who learned to shoot as a girl on the family ranch, grabbed the rifle again, went back outside and walked to within about 20 feet of the mountain lion. She said she was a little nervous. “I didn’t know whether I had a small one or a big one,” Smith said. All I could see was three feet of tail and it was snarling and spitting at me.”

Smith aimed for the cat’s chest where she figured its heart would be and fired. The cat jumped up, ran a short distance and dropped dead.

A GF&P staffer showed up a few hours later and measured the cat, a 90-pound male.

Smith said she was worried whether the young lion’s mother was around.

But the young cat had been fitted with a collar, so GF&P was able to track its mother, which had been shot by a hunter.

“Thank God he was little because I don’t think my .22 would have killed the big one, Smith said.

She says she always keeps her .22 rifle loaded. “What good’s a gun if it’s not loaded?”

Further links:
80-year-old Black Hills woman shoots mountain lion

Labels: animal, SD

Crestline man shoots mountain lion

A man shot a mountain lion Thursday evening after the animal attacked his dogs.

San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies said the resident at the corner of Playground Road and Summit Drive fired at the lion about 10 p.m., causing the lion to flee from the man's fenced back yard.

Sheriff's deputies searched the area but could not find the mountain lion.

They notified officials with the Department of Fish and Game about the incident.

Sheriff's officials advised residents to use caution when outside and notify authorities when a mountain lion is spotted in the area.

Labels: animal, CA

Grizzly, 3 cubs killed on Kodiak Island

A rabbit hunter fired his pistol at a charging grizzly bear on Kodiak Island, badly wounding the old sow, which was later killed, as were her three cubs.

The hunter, whose name is not being released, was hunting rabbits near the American River on Friday about 15 miles outside Kodiak when the sow charged him, said John Crye, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, on Monday.

The hunter, who was carrying two weapons, shot the bear when it was about 10 yards away. It was the second time in a week that hunters had encountered the family of bears. The last time it was one of the cubs that charged a father and son out duck hunting as the mother and the other cubs slept nearby.

This time, the rabbit hunter was charged after he rounded a corner and surprised the sow, who was at least 25 years old.

"A rabbit hunter was in the brush and kind of woke them up out of their beds," Crye said. "He felt threatened by the sow, so he shot the sow."

The hunter immediately notified Alaska State Troopers and the Department of Fish and Game. Crye went with troopers to the site where the 8-foot, 400-pound sow lay barely alive.

It was determined that she was too badly injured and would have to be killed, so she was shot again.

...

Crye said the shooting was justifiable because the hunter felt threatened.

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Further links:
Rabbit hunter shoots charging bear

Labels: AK, animal

Panther kills farm animal, threatens ten year old boy

A Florida Panther is causing trouble for one Golden Gate neighborhood. A Collier County man claims that a panther jumped over his fence, killed a farm animal, and almost attacked a ten year old boy.

Homeowner and Golden Gate resident John Edgar is no stranger to wild animals.

Edgar raises goats, peacocks, and roosters, but Sunday night, he captured pictures of a new, unwelcome gust - a Florida Panther.

Edgar said that he had taken a few kids out for target shooting practice Saturday afternoon and was unaware that a wild animal was following closely behind.

When all of a sudden, Edgar said that a panther jumped over a fence and stood just 50 yards away while crouching down as if it were ready to attack one of the boys that was with the group.

"What I would like to put forth is the fact that it stalked a kid, " Edgar said.

"I thought he was ready to jump so we both shoot, 'pow-pow,' not at the panther, just in the air."

After firing several rounds, the panther then ran away, and so did the little boy and his family.

(More)

Labels: animal, FL

Dog pack attacks farm animals

A pack of dogs is terrorizing farms in the Rose Valley area, and neighbors have been trying to shoot the animals.

Since late last month, the dogs have killed two llamas and wounded three, according to residents of this rural area southeast of Kelso. Llama owners in the valley say they've heard reports of the dogs attacking a horse, but that could not be confirmed.

Neighbors suspect four dogs -- apparently a German Shepherd mix, pit bull and two golden retrievers -- have been prowling the neighborhood. The dogs appear to be well-cared-for. Yet, people in the valley are astounded by their aggressiveness and they're searching desperately to find the dogs' owners.

"If these dogs are attacking llamas and adult horses what's to say they wouldn't attack children who are waiting for the bus?" said Susan Calhoun, who keeps llamas and other animals on her property in the 900 block of Rose Valley Road. "They're not going to quit killing until somebody keeps them home or somebody shoots them."

Laura Maria, 44, said two of the dogs were on her property not far from Calhoun's Tuesday morning. She shot at them, she said, but they escaped.

"I like dogs," she said later that afternoon. "I shouldn't have to shoot them because their owners are stupid."

The trouble started Thursday, Nov. 29, when Calhoun's neighbors pulled into her driveway and said dogs were attacking Maria's llamas up the road.

Calhoun sprinted into her house, tried to call Maria, then grabbed a .38 pistol and set out to rescue the llamas. She found Maria's baby llama, Spice Girl, laying in Owl Creek. Four dogs stood on the bank.

A pit bull snarled. She fired three shots. All missed, and the dogs ran away.

...

Sheriff's Capt. Mark Nelson said the county's ordinances require people to keep their dogs home if someone complains. Owners can also be cited under a vicious dog law that can trigger fines of $500 for a first offense to $1,500 for a third offense within 12 months. Property owners, he said, can also start shooting if they think it's necessary.

"They have a right to protect their property," Nelson said. "That can include everything from throwing rocks to throwing lead."

Labels: animal, WA

Two dogs attack North County man

A 53-year-old man was hospitalized today after two bulldogs attacked him at a home in north St. Louis County.

The man had been playing with the dogs about 9:20 a.m. in a fenced-in section of the back yard of the home in the 2600 block of Lyndhurst Avenue, police said.

One of the dogs started biting him, and the other dog quickly joined in the attack, said Officer Tracy Panus of the St. Louis County Police Department.

A neighbor heard the man's screams, got a gun from his residence and fired at the dogs. One of the animals was killed. The other, injured, was later euthanized.

The dogs, both American bulldogs, were taken away by St. Louis County Animal Control.

The man suffered bite wounds to his arm and leg, Panus said. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.

Panus said the man told police the animals had never bitten him before or showed any vicious tendencies.

Officials said the dogs and their owner were visiting from out of town. The owner is an in-law of the man attacked, Panus said.

The owner has agreed to euthanize the female dog, which survived the shooting, LeFebvre said. Both dogs will be tested for rabies as a standard measure, he said.

Further links:
Dogs Attack Man In North St. Louis County

Pit bulls shot by neighbor after attacking man

Labels: animal, MO

Deer Attacks Arkansas Grandfather

A deer attacked an 84-year-old man in Colt, AR on Thanksgiving Day. J.W. Mitchell has lived in Colt for a long time. It's a town of about 300, and who knows how many deer. Mitchell and the deer usually keep to themselves. That changed Thursday.

Mitchell says the deer was attacking his dog, Buddy, in the backyard. Mitchell says the seven point buck turned on him when he went outside to help. Mitchell suffered injuries to his arms and wrists, but says it could have been worse. "Yes it could have. If I hadn't of had that stick there's no telling what he would have done," says Mitchell.

Mitchell uses a walking stick made out of metal from an old swing-set. He was carrying it during the attack. A neighbor came over with a shotgun, and killed the deer.

Labels: animal, AR

Hunter recovering from mountain lion attack

The state wildlife agency says a hunter is recovering from a weekend attack by a mountain lion, southeast of Kalispell.

The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks says the hunter was on a trail yesterday when he heard a growl, turned and saw the lion 10 to 15 feet away. The man dropped his rifle and sought protection behind a tree, but the lion pounced on his back and knocked him into the tree. The man was able to grab his pistol, fired a shot and the mountain lion fled.

The hunter, whose name was withheld, received medical attention at a hospital and was released.

Labels: animal, MT

Angry hog meets fate on Youngstown property

A Youngstown man with a .22 rifle was the last line of defense between his family and an angry porker.

The 300-pound swine terrorized a home along County 2301 on Saturday morning, but ultimately, the hog was killed and taken away to become bacon, ribs and other meats.

“It charged my mom. She was getting very upset,” said the 47-year-old who shot the hog. The man’s name is being withheld at the family’s request because of fear of retribution. “It even came after me one time and nipped me on the leg.”

Officials with the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said the family contacted their neighbors to see if the hog belonged to anyone, but no one claimed the curly-tailed creature.

After the family called for help, two officers from Bay County Animal Control arrived, but they could not catch the hog either.

“We chased the pig all over the place,” the man said. “The pig was street-wise.”

The animal control officers then called for backup, and an unnamed Bay County Sheriff’s deputy showed up. But the pig eluded him, too.

“Two animal control officers were able to get a noose around the animal but could not hold onto it,” said Sgt. John Sumerall of the Bay County Sheriff’s Office. “Three hundred pounds of pig will pull you pretty good.”

The officers told the deputy to shoot the hog, but the deputy refused, Sumerall said. The officers then requested the deputy contact Sumerall, who concurred with the deputy’s decision.

“We’re not shooting an animal that is not a threat to anyone,” Sumerall said.

However, Sumerall told the officials the homeowner could shoot the pig. Homeowners have a right to safely kill game on their property, and hogs always are in season, Sumerall said.

“When an animal is being aggressive and going after people and we’re not able to catch it, the complainant is allowed to protect themselves and their property,” said Debbie Evernham, interim manager of Bay County Animal Control. Sumerall added the shooting was acceptable because it did not take place in city limits, and the shooter was clear of other houses and traffic. “The property owner went inside, found a rifle and shot the pig in the head, I guess,” Summerall said. The Youngstown man said he never has killed an animal before and did not want to do it. “I don’t like killing nothing,” he said. Animal control officials had the hog harvested later Saturday.

Labels: animal, FL

Haggar's encounter with grizzly ends tragically for hungry 400-pound bear

Carl Haggar has been living just west of the Blackfeet Reservation boundary on U.S. Highway 2 for years, and he's been hunting the Lubec Hills area across the highway for just about as long. Carl is a responsible and careful hunter, and he'd already talked to Dan Carney, bear biologist for the Blackfeet Tribe, as well as Gabe Salois, a game warden for Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife. They'd already told him there were grizzly bears at large in the Lubec Hills.

"I went out Tuesday morning [Oct. 22] at daybreak," Haggar said Sunday, Oct. 28. "It was a beautiful morning, not much wind. It took me about an hour and a half to get to the area where I hunt. Bears were not on my mind, but I knew of multiple sightings," he said of his conversations with the experts. Nevertheless, Carl saw no signs of bear activity as he continued his solitary hunt.

He was walking along the top of a ravine - the Lubec Hills include several parallel ridges with narrow valleys between - when he saw a grizzly cub scamper up the other side. Immediately an enormous sow grizzly charged up his side of the ravine to investigate. Haggar stood his ground with his rifle held across his chest and softly but firmly said "whoa" to the griz. Haggar said "whoa" three times as the female griz waited, deciding what to do next, when Carl tripped and fell over backwards.

The griz was on him in a flash, covering the 20 feet separating them in a split second. "I knew I would be mauled," he said. "I remember thinking that if I got a round off I hoped I'd have time to get in another one because it was obvious I was in deep sh_t."

Haggar fell on one arm, still holding his semi automatic 30.06 rifle in the other. He got a single shot fired and hit the female just above the left eye, killing it nearly instantly. She fell at his feet, motionless.

"There was a moment when she was at the top when I thought she would stop, just for an instant, but my tripping just triggered her instincts...when she dropped at my feet I couldn't believe it," he said.

Standing by a tree and catching his breath, Haggar said he looked to see if there were more cubs, but didn't see any. "Then I started to get angry about the situation and why the bear had to die," he said. "I wasn't thinking at all about how close I'd come to death."

Haggar hiked back out, called the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks and that afternoon accompanied Rod Duty to investigate the scene.

When they got there, a male grizzly prevented the official from gathering biological samples, but upon investigating from the opposite ridge, they were able to see a gut pile from a hunter's elk kill, lying at the bottom of the ravine. Although invisible from Haggar's vantage point earlier, the remains had attracted the female as well as the male later that day.

Duty found Haggar's shell casing lying nine feet from the bear's carcass. Haggar said he'd tested his gun at home and found it throws the casings about five feet behind him so the bear was only about four feet away when it was killed. Duty absolved him of any guilt in the bear's death, ruling it was self defense.

Labels: animal, MT

Dog attack in SV results in death of horse

A horse was put down in Smith Valley as a result of injuries suffered from an attack by neighbors' pitbulls and the horse owner would like to inform residents of this situation and perhaps save an animal's life.

Lisa Adams of Smith Valley said three or four pit bulls attacked her quarter horse gelding "Zack" Sunday morning and inflicted wounds so severe the equine had to be euthanized.

Adams, who helplessly watched her horse, a barrel racer, being attacked by the dogs of neighbors who had just moved into a rental next door, said it will take a while to overcome this attack. She was struck in the head by her horse as they tried to tend to it after the attack and was briefly hospitalized, while a neighbor, kicked by the horse trying to chase off the dogs, also received medical treatment.
…

The incident began about 7:30 a.m. Sunday in the neighborhood between Day Lane and Artist View in Smith Valley as Mrs. Adams got up and saw a neighbor who had apparently moved in the day before let four dogs out of a small fenced kennel. She said she couldn't tell what kind of dogs they were but admitted she was a little concerned seeing a neighbor with dogs. Her husband Steve, a LCSO deputy, had already left for work.

Lisa Adams then walked to the other side of the house and noticed her 26-year-old mare, who can barely move, walking in circles, dust kicked up.

She ran outside and heard noise in the other horse's stall (a third horse the Adams own is on the other side of their five-acre property). She saw an apparent owner crouched down with one dog to the side and three pit bulls in the stall.

So she ran inside to call 911, Mrs. Adams related, and apparently was screaming for help so the three neighbors arrived. Two tried to get the dogs away from the horse, but one was kicked and injured in the leg, so the other and Mrs. Adams dragged her out of the stall.

"Thank God the dogs didn't turn on her," she said.

Eventually, Adams went into her home to get a pistol and shot one of the dogs, although it survived, as Bolzle said it was a superficial wound. However, Adams said the other dogs then left her horse alone.

(More)

Labels: animal, NV

Bear, dogs scuffle in Saugerties

Thinking his home was being burglarized, a Saugerties man came face-to-face with a black bear early Sunday morning before his dogs came to the rescue.

Daniel Kelly, of Valk Road in Saugerties, said he and his wife awoke at approximately 2:15 a.m. Sunday to a neighbor's dog barking and considerable noise in his back yard. Kelly opened his back door where the bear stood a few feet away. Without the aid of his glasses, Kelly thought it was a burglar and yelled at the figure.

Luckily, his two 50-pound chow-chow dogs realized this was no burglar and attacked the bear, wrestling with it for close to 20 minutes. Somehow in the struggle between dog and bear, Kelly was blocked from his back door and could not get back in the house.

At one point, he said, the bear tried to climb over the 6-foot fence in his yard, only to be pulled back into the yard by his normally docile dogs. Kelly, who estimated the bear to be slightly taller than his 5-foot 7-inch frame and over 150 pounds, was eventually able to get back in the house and retrieve his 12-gauge shotgun. His wife called 911.

Kelly, who hadn't fired a gun in 20 years, went back to aid his dogs and once again got too close. The bear again took a swipe at him from close-range before he fired a warning shot. This was enough to scare the bear up a tree. Kelly said the bear, which he had no interest in killing, left soon thereafter.

Kelly, who said he half-expected to have to put one of his dogs out if its misery with his gun, was shocked to find them in perfect condition, minus a scratch to one dog's hind-quarters.

Saugerties police responded not long after the bear left. Kelly said Saugerties police also called for the Department of Environmental Conservation, but they never arrived.

Labels: animal, NY

Hunter kills advancing grizzly

A female grizzly bear was killed over the weekend at close range by a hunter near Ovando, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said.

The hunter told authorities that he was walking down a game trail on Saturday then he saw three grizzlies 75 yards ahead of him. A large female advanced, despite his attempts to warn it of his presence.

The hunter shot the 300-pound bear at close range, killing it with one shot, FWP officials said Monday. The two other bears left the area.

The hunter immediately reported the incident to authorities, who closed the road in the area until they could retrieve the bear on Sunday.

FWP said the incident is a reminder that much of western Montana is grizzly bear country.

Bear specialist Jamie Jonkel asked hunters to carry bear spray, saying it is the most successful way to fend off bear attack and prevent injury to hunter and animal alike.

“Hunters should watch for bear sign, be especially careful around dense cover, make plenty of noise, avoid hunting alone and use extra caution when returning to retrieve a game carcass,” Jonkel said in a release.

Labels: animal, MT

Hunter charging grizzly

Sitting on his butt and aiming a 30-06 rifle with one arm, Carl Haggar of East Glacier fired the shot of his life — and maybe saved it.

The 350-pound grizzly that was closing in on him hit the ground — dead — just five feet away.

"It was an amazing sound," said Haggar, recalling the bear's heavy collapse, "because it was a lifeless sound."
Haggar, who was hunting elk, said he felt terrible after killing the bear, which happened late Tuesday morning near the South Fork of the Two Medicine River in the Lewis and Clark National Forest southwest of East Glacier.

But, he figured, it was the bear or him.

"I would have been killed if I hadn't had a killing blow," he said.

(More)

Labels: animal, MT

Investigator shoots pit bull in Pasadena

Ryan Scott knew his dog was going to die when he held him in his arms yesterday morning.

The Pasadena man came home on his lunch break to let his 7 month-old pit bull, Hershey, outside. Within a few moments, the dog would be shot by a man identified as a Social Security investigator after the animal got loose.

"I picked him up and I knew he was going to die," Mr. Scott said.

Cpl. Mark Shawkey, county police spokesman, said officers who arrived at Mr. Scott's home on Colony Road at just after 11 a.m. found a official from the Office of the Inspector General.

He told them he was investigating a Social Security case. They did not release his name last night.

The investigator told police he warned the person who answered the door several times to call the dog and that the animal chased after him.

Police said the animal, which weighed 50 to 60 pounds, was shot at very close range, with the shot fired almost straight down. No charges have been filed.

Dorothy Clark, spokesman for the Social Security Administration, said yesterday afternoon that her office had not been informed of the incident. She was unable to say if anyone from the Office of Inspector General was in Pasadena yesterday. The office investigates cases where a Social Security number is fraudulently used to obtain benefits.

Mr. Scott said he wasn't outside when the dog was shot. Hershey, seeing company coming to call, was excited and jumped up on the inspector playfully, he said.

...

Both Mr. Preissler and Mr. Scott argue that if the inspector had time to call off the dog, there was no need to shoot him.

"Obviously he wasn't in imminent danger," Mr. Preissler said.

Mr. Scott's sister had called the dog, who was running back toward the house with his back to the inspector, Mr. Scott said.

"He definitely made the wrong call. The dog wasn't even doing nothing," he said.

Mr. Scott said that he thought pit bulls get a bad reputation, but he has two others and doesn't worry about the baby his girlfriend is carrying being around the dogs.

"I believe because he was a pit, they shot him," Mr. Scott said.

Labels: animal, MD

Largo Man Shoots Dog In Self Defense

A homeowner shot and killed a dog that broke through the fence and attacked his pet on Monday night, police said.

Police said George Frank, of 334 Lake Palms Drive, was within his rights to protect himself from the dog. No charges are expected to be filed stemming from the incident that occurred at 7:30 p.m.

The dog, a chow mix, attacked Frank's dog, police said. Frank tried to separate them when the chow mix started snarling at him. Then, Frank shot two rounds into the dog, killing it instantly.

Frank has a concealed weapons permit and was armed with a 9mm handgun.

Labels: animal, concealed carry permit, FL

Bear named 'Twister' that survived Idaho tornado shot by camper

After surviving a howling Idaho mountain tornado, a female black bear cub's luck has run out.

Twister, as the yearling was called after being orphaned by the 2006 storm, was shot and killed last month by an armed camper.

The bear was raised at the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center near Boise and had been released back into the Boise National Forest in June.

Ever since, Idaho Fish and Game officials say they received sporadic reports of the bear loitering near campsites.

Early September 20th, Twister was shot by a camper who said he caught Twister sticking her nose inside the wrong tent.

Fish and Game officials say this year's drought has dramatically reduced bear foods such as wild berries, forcing many animals into closer proximity to humans - and into harm's way.

Labels: animal, ID

Animal shot in western Massachusetts may be state’s first wolf, officials say

State wildlife officials say a large animal killed in Franklin County last week may have been the first wild wolf in Massachusetts since 1840.

After investigating reports from several farms about attacks on lambs and sheep, MassWildlife received a call on Oct. 14 that an 85-pound wild dog had been killed in Shelburne, about 8 miles west of Greenfield.

A farmer shot the animal Oct. 14 when it returned to his Shelburne farm after having killed 13 lambs the day before. The farmer’s name was not released.

On Oct. 13, a wildlife biologist visited the farm where the lambs had been killed. The owner was told he had the right to shoot the animal, which at that point was assumed to be a dog.

Officials described the animal as a wolf or a cross between a wolf and a dog.

Todd Fuller, a professor and wolf researcher from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst, examined the dead animal and said it may have been a wolf or a hybrid.

The carcass has been sent to a lab in Oregon for DNA testing.

Labels: animal, MA

Woman Checking Mail Attacked, Killed By Dogs

A woman checking her mail was attacked and killed by a pack of dogs in south-central Oklahoma on Monday, authorities said.

According to officials with the Ada Fire Department, the dogs belonged to the woman's son-in-law, who lived next door near Oil Center. Emergency crews found the woman dead just after noon, lying in a nearby street.

Authorities said she had bite marks all over her body.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, they reported seeing somebody shoot the dogs with a shotgun. Four of the dogs were killed, but the rest got away.

Labels: animal, OK

Fairfield man kills pit bull that attacked mother, dog

A Fairfield man shot and killed a dog that was attacking his mother and her pet dog Tuesday morning.

Joann Farley said she had let her small mixed-breed dog "out to go to the bathroom" in front of her house on 50th Street about 6:40 a.m. when a pit bull, which lived at a neighbor's house, jumped the dog, she said. Her son, Raymond Farley, was able to pry the pit bull's jaws open to get the small dog released, she said.

"I ran out in nothing but my gown. I picked up my little dog and it (the pit bull) bit me on the arm, trying to get my dog again," she said. "When he bit me I dropped my dog and he got it again."

Finally, Raymond Farley shot the attacking dog twice with a .38-caliber pistol, killing it.

Joann Farley went to Trinity Medical Center for treatment of her arm, where she received 12 stitches, she said.

Terra Cotromano of The Emergency Animal Rescue Service said she was called to come help with the injured dog.

"When I got there the little dog was lying there on the ground. It couldn't get up. He (Raymond Farley) was trying to deal with his mother. I took the dog to the vet. It really doesn't look very good for it," she said.

Joann Farley, who has several small dogs, said the pit bull has attacked them before.

Fairfield Police Chief Mardis said he expects to charge the pit bull's owner, who lives in Birmingham, with violating the city's leash law. It wasn't clear why the dog was at the address in Fairfield.

Joann Farley said she is also concerned with whether the pit bull had been vaccinated for rabies. She said she was told it been vaccinated, but the remains had been removed from her yard by the time she returned home from the hospital.

"I've got to try to find the body (for testing) or get some proof that it had been vaccinated," she said.

Cotromano said the incident lends further support to people who want to see a dangerous-dog law in place.

"There are some who want it breed-specific, but I believe it should be addressed by the (individual) animal that presents a danger to the public."

Labels: AL, animal

Athlete recovering from mauling

A Carroll College student is recovering from a severed hamstring and other injuries suffered when he was mauled by a grizzly bear while bow hunting over the weekend.

Roman Morris, who is a freshman wide receiver on Carroll’s football team, said he was crouched on a hillside north of Gardiner at dawn Saturday when a female grizzly bear walking by turned and attacked him.

‘‘It charged down the hill and just drilled me,’’ said Morris, 21, of Whitewater.

Over the next 30 to 45 seconds, Morris fought with the bear as it bit and clawed, severed his left hamstring, punctured his shoulder, chomped at his head and tossed him around.

‘‘I thought the whole time, This is so messed up. I’m going to die, I’m going to die,’’’ said Morris, a pre-med major.

The bear ran off after a friend fired a pistol. Morris underwent surgery at a Livingston hospital and was recuperating Monday at his brother’s house in Helena.

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Labels: animal, MT

Questions in cougar shooting

Jeremy Kocar killed mountain lion that attacked a puppy chained on the property

Only stars and the glimmer from a 140-pound mountain lion's fierce gaze provided light in the midnight darkness of Boulder County's foothills for Jeremy Kocar to cock and aim his rifle.

Still, Kocar said his eyes adjusted "quick enough" when the cougar looked up from the puppy in its clutches.

"I took the shot, and that was the end of it," said Kocar, 31, who now finds himself facing possible criminal charges for shooting the adult male lion.

It's been three days since Kocar said he saved his family's Rottweiler-Labrador mix, Duke — and possibly his own life — by shooting the lion that attacked the 8-month-old puppy. But, Kocar said, it will be much longer before he's able to get over the moment he stared down the cat as it crouched in a "pouncing" position.

"That's one thing you don't ever want," Kocar said Monday while standing outside the trailer that he, his wife and their two children are living in near Nederland. "You don't want to come face-to-face with a lion."

Jeremy Kocar, a Wisconsin man temporarily living near Nederland, sits with 8-month-old Duke, who was mauled by a mountain lion near Kocar's trailer early Friday. Kocar shot and killed the cougar, and now may face criminal charges.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife confiscated the cougar that Kocar killed at approximately 1:30 a.m. Friday in a clearing east of Gross Reservoir. Wildlife officers are reviewing the shooting, and DOW spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said her agency is "investigating what will happen to the person who shot the lion."

"We do have laws that allow people to protect their safety and their livestock," Churchill said. "But this is the tricky gray area of it being a dog."According to Colorado law, it's legal "to trap, kill or otherwise dispose of bears, mountain lions or dogs in situations when it is necessary to prevent them from inflicting death or injury to livestock or human life."

That's exactly what Kocar said he was doing when the lion tucked Duke under his belly, as if "it was protecting its kill," and turned its attention to Kocar.

"I'm from Wisconsin — and we take care of things there," Kocar said.

(Much More)

Dog Owner Won't Be Charged For Shooting Mountain Lion

A Wisconsin man who shot and killed a mountain lion that was attacking his dog will not be charged, the Division of Wildlife announced Thursday.

Officials determined that Jeremy Kocar was acting in self-defense when he shot the mountain lion just outside his temporary home, near Gross Reservoir, earlier this week.

Kocar could have been charged with an illegal take, and could have faced a fine of $1,400. State law allows people to shoot a mountain lion if their personal safety or livestock are threatened -- but officials said they didn't know if that would extend to dogs.

Kocar and his wife, Angela, said that they heard a growl in the middle of the night and went outside to check out what happened and came face to face with the mountain lion.

"It was standing right there under the tree branch with my dog in its mouth," said Angela Kocar.

Jeremy tried to scare the mountain lion away but it didn't budge so he ran inside, grabbed his rifle and that's when the mountain lion approached him, he said.

Wildlife advocates were upset that Kocar shot the mountain lion.

The DOW said that pet owners who are going to live in lion country need to be a responsible and put their pets away, or inside at night.

Jeremy and his wife said they will never leave their dogs outside alone again.

Labels: animal, CO

Bear in mauling found dead

Game wardens confirmed Sunday that a female grizzly bear shot by a Pennsylvania elk hunter in Tom Miner Basin on Saturday has died of its wounds.

Kevin Frey, a bear management specialist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the bear weighed about 300 pounds and was probably between 8 and 10 years old.

It attacked a pair of bow hunters early Saturday afternoon. One of them used bear pepper spray and halted a charge within nine feet, but the grizzly turned and charged a second time. That's when the second hunter shot it twice with a .44 magnum pistol.

“It hit her and turned her,” FWP Warden Captain Sam Sheppard said of the spray. “Then she whirled and came back over a log at them.”

Without the spray, the bear likely would have mauled one of the men before they had a chance to pull the pistol, Sheppard said.

“It's not foolproof,” he said. “But it's still the best thing going.”

The first pistol shot entered the bear's body just under the chin, traveled through the sternum and clipped the aorta, Sheppard said. The second hit the bear in the chest. Both likely would have been fatal.

Investigators on Sunday looked over the scene, which had received about 20 inches of snow, and performed a field necropsy.

“It happened just like they said it did,” Sheppard said. “It's self defense. The matter is closed.”

Labels: animal, MT

Marble man shoots mother bear and cub

A man shot and killed a mother black bear and then one of her cubs as each one separately tried to break into his Marble-area cabin over the course of last weekend, according to state wildlife officials.

“The sow was tearing apart the floor of the (elevated) cabin and coming in from underneath” while the man, an employee of OutWest Guides, was home early Saturday morning, according to Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton. Hampton said no obvious food or garbage attractants were around the cabin to entice the bear.

The DOW managed to catch two of the dead sow’s three cubs and take them to a wildlife rehabilitation center in Silt, Hampton said, but the biggest cub remained at large and returned to the man’s cabin late Sunday night, where it allegedly tried to break in.

“The individual was afraid and shot the cub,” Hampton said.

The cub weighed about 50 or 60 pounds and was strong enough to break into the house despite its small size, Hampton said. “Think of it this way: Imagine if you had a 60-pound dog coming in the window growling.”

It’s illegal to shoot black bears out of season or without a hunting license, but a state statute allows people to shoot bears in self defense.

“We have determined that the individual in their house feared for their safety,” Hampton said. “They were within their legal rights to protect themselves. If additional facts come to light, that could change things. But for the present time, our investigation is done,”

Because the DOW did not issue the man a citation, his name will not be released.

It is possible that the DOW would have had to kill the mother bear anyway because of her unusually aggressive behavior, Hampton said. Bears that break through walls, floors or locked doors or windows must be put down under state law.

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Labels: animal, CO

Two pit-bull terriers attack, kill Middleburg owner

Authorities are urging people in a Middleburg neighborhood to stay indoors while they search for a pit-bull terrier that ran away after it and another dog fatally mauled their owner.

The unidentified woman in her 40s was with the dogs about 8:30 a.m. when they both started to attack, according to Clay County Sheriff's Office reports. Both of the animals were the woman's pets, authorities said.

The woman was able to make a call from her cell phone for help and others tried to intervene, but the dogs turned on them, according to reports.

One of the people giving aid to the attack victim shot one of the dogs and the other ran away.

Deputies were searching the neighborhood around Cosmos Road where the attack occurred.

Cosmos Road is off Conty Road 218 West,.

Labels: animal, FL

Dog owner shoots, kills stray pit bull to save pet

When police arrived at the 1700 block of Polk Street Sunday to investigate a report of shots fired, they found a distressed dog owner that told them, “there was a pit bull killing his dog in the back yard.”

Police reports show the man, who has not been charged with any crime, shot the pit bull as it attacked his dog, a Labrador mix, outside the home.

He said the pit bull chased his dog into the back yard, where they began to fight. The 12-year-old Lab mix is missing teeth, his owner said and suffered several bite marks in the attack and was bleeding.

Finally, the dog’s owner, who works as a security guard, shot the pit bull multiple times with a .357 handgun.

The animal died at the scene and was picked up by Animal Control officers.

Labels: animal, TX

Orem man shoots attacking pit bull

If John Erickson hadn't had his gun with him when a neighbor's pit bull attacked him, there's no telling how bad things might have been.

Erickson, 22, was walking up to his house on 400 South near 700 West in Orem on Wednesday when a neighbor's pit bull bit him from behind. As he rode his scooter to his house around 8:30 p.m., Erickson saw the dog sitting calmly while a neighborhood girl petted it. Then he parked and took three or four steps toward his house when the dog bit him.

"All of a sudden the dog grabbed my leg from behind," he said.

He swung his scooter helmet at the dog, which backed off for a moment. But when the dog charged forward, Erickson, who has a concealed weapons permit, drew his 9-millimeter pistol and fired at the dog's head. Erickson said he worries about what would have happened if he hadn't been armed.

"There's nothing I could've done. I couldn't run. There's no way I'm going to outrun it. There's nowhere I could go," said Erickson, a student at Utah Valley State College.

Even more, he said he worries about what would've happened if the dog had attacked his wife, Lynn Ann, who came home just two minutes before him, or the many children who walk down that street on their way to and from Orem Elementary School.

Erickson's mother, Lyn Erickson, who lives across the street, said she used to dislike her son's gun.

"Now I'm saying, 'I'm just so thankful he had a gun.' I'm just so thankful because what would you do?" she said.

At Erickson's request, no charges were filed against the dog's owner, said Orem police spokesman Lt. Doug Edwards. Vicious animal citations and letting dogs run free are misdemeanor offenses.

"You can't allow your dog to run at large. It doesn't matter how they get off the property, whether it's a hole (in the fence) or a broken leash. Dogs can't run loose," Edwards said.

The dog survived the shot to the top of its head. Erickson said the owner initially planned to euthanize the dog because its veterinary bills were expected to be as high as $4,000. But the owner had a change of heart and decided not to put the dog down, he said.

The owner of the dog, who Erickson said moved to the neighborhood several weeks ago, was not identified and could not be reached for comment. Orem police would not release the owner's name because no charges were filed.

Erickson said he is now concerned because the hole in his neighbor's fence has not been fixed -- a pile of branches now blocks the hole -- and the dog owner has another pit bull that he worries could get loose and hurt someone.

"Every day little kids from Orem Elementary walk right past the house. It could've been one of the little kids, it could've been my wife who got home two minutes before me," he said.

Lyn Erickson said she plans to talk to police about the hole in the neighbor's fence.

Labels: animal, concealed carry permit, UT

Possible Coyote With Rabies

Brian Akers and a group of neighbors were standing outside when a sickly looking coyote approached them.

They tried to run the coyote off by chasing it away with a four-wheeler, but the coyote wasn't startled.

After the coyote lunged and attempted to bite a neighbor, Mr. Akers shot and killed the animal.

The coyote was taken to the Bland County Health Department and is now undergoing testing for rabies.

Labels: animal, WV

Rochester Hills dad kills pit bull that mauled family pet

Oakland County sheriff's investigators are looking for the owner of a pit bull dog that was fatally shot by a man trying to get the animal to stop mauling his pet.

Deputies about 8:30 a.m. responded to a home on Eastern Street responding to reports of a BB gun being fired. They discovered that a man had fatally shot a pit bull with a 12-gauge shotgun after the dog clamped its jaws on the family dog's neck and refused to let go of the pet, sheriff's officials said.

The man's children were in the fenced, backyard of the home with the family pet when the pit bull attacked it, sheriff's officials said. The dad threw several objects at the pit bull to try and stop the attack.

When the pit bull would not let the family pet go, the dad went into his house and got the rifle [sic]. He fired a warning shot and then shot the pit bull once, sheriff's officials said.

Deputies said the pit bull did not have identification tags and they did not know who owned the dog. The man's home has a fenced yard.

It was not clear what happened to the other dog.

Labels: animal, MI

Fox Shot & Killed In Henrico

A fox that terroized a East End neighorhood this weekend is dead.

The animal believed to be behind three separate attacks Saturday and Sunday. The first happened Saturday evening. A man fishing near the landfill on Charles City Road says the animal bit him several times.

Then not far away, a woman on Southbury Avenue got bit going to get her Sunday morning paper. At that point Animal Control Officers set up traps.

But the fox outwitted them and ended up making its way to Wildnerness Court and having a run-in with a dog. Ernest Kidd said his dog bit it, and he thought it was dead. It just acted like for a moment, then turned on the dog. Kidd says he pulled out his pistol and fired at the fox. He thought he hit it, but didn't.

Thankfully his neighbor came home and helped wrangle the animal.

Here's how Kidd says it happened.

"We saw it up in the dog house so he told me to lean around the doghouse, put the gun inside and shoot, so I shot it and the thing came out the dog house man, came toward us. So I threw a brick on it and I shot it again and then threw another brick on it and the neighbor shot a round into it and we thought it would lie there and die and 20 minutes later it was still moving."

Luckily, by that time Henrico Animal Control arrived on scene and euthanized the fox. They're going to test if for Rabies Monday.

Kidd's dog is up to date on its rabies shot, but still must be quarantined for 45 days as a precaution.

Henrico Police say this serves as a good warning for everyone.

"Wildlife is normally going to stay far away from us, but if its up near people- it's acting weird, agressive, or like it's drunk- it's probably going to be rabid," says Lt. Doug Perry.

Labels: animal, VA

Bear wounded after charging bow hunter

A bear feeding on the carcass of a grizzly bear in northwestern Montana was shot after charging a bow hunter that apparently startled it, state wildlife officials said.

Game wardens tracked the wounded bear’s blood trail for four miles, but were unable to locate it.

The state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is warning hunters and others planning to be in the South Fork of Canyon Creek in the North Fork Flathead drainage that the wounded bear may be in the area.

The bow hunter shot the bear with a pistol Thursday evening. FWP Warden Perry Brown and biologist Tim Manley tracked the wounded bear Friday, following a blood trail for three or four miles before losing it. Biologists don’t know if it was a black bear or a grizzly.

It’s questionable whether the bear would survive the substantial blood loss, but the agency wanted to warn recreationists.

Brown said there was evidence the dead grizzly died several days earlier and may have been killed illegally.

Labels: animal, MT

Dog Attacks Man on Street, Neighbor Shoots Dog Dead

A dog attack leads to gunfire in a Southland neighborhood. A man shoots a dog when it goes after his elderly neighbor. The dog owner says he overreacted and put her child in danger.

The dog's owner says she feels terrible about what happened to the 80-year-old victim but says the armed neighbor who shot and killed her dog went too far.

The attack sent an 80-year-old man to the hospital with dog bites and left the dog dead.

"The dog was on the ground. There was no more danger, and the guy came out of his house with a gun and right behind my back, at close range, shot and killed the dog as my daughter was reaching for him," said Robin Lifland, the dog's owner.

Police say the large mixed-breed dog named "Timmy" attacked 80-year-old Walt Kelly as he was walking in front of his home around 6. Robin Lifland says she was getting the mail when Timmy ran out of the house and apparently went after Kelly.

"He kept flailing his arms and hitting the dog and the dog got scared," said Lifland. "And he sort of ripped out a piece of his shirt."

Police say Kelly's neighbor heard the commotion and rushed outside to find the 80-year-old fighting off the canine.

"He went inside and retrieved a pistol and while the dog was still attacking the neighbor, he fired one gunshot wound to the dog, and then the dog apparently disengaged from the neighbor," said Sergeant Dennis Smith, Claremont Police Dept.

Investigators say Kelly suffered three puncture wounds to his chest, side and stomach. The dog later died at the animal hospital.

Police say the gun used in the shooting is registered and say it is now in police custody as the investigation continues.

It will be up to the district attorney to decide if the neighbor who shot and killed the dog may face any charges, and it will be up to the Humane Society to determine if Timmy's owner may face charges.

As for the victim, his injuries are said to be not life-threatening and he's expected to make a full recovery.

Labels: animal, CA

Pit Bull Attack Victim Speaks Out

Friends and family are staying close by Kelly Edwards' side as he recovers from multiple bite wounds to his arms, legs and torso.

He said he vividly remembers the attack by three pit bulls as he went for his daily walk Monday.

“The small one came out and leaped for me and got me on my side, and I fell,” he recalled. “Then, when I was on the ground they were snapping at me and biting me. There was one place on my arm where the skin was laid open where one of them bit me."

He said he tried his best to fight the dogs off.

“I lost so much blood, I was just too weak,” he said.

As the dogs were attacking Edwards, one neighbor came up and fended them off with a walking stick, then another shot one of the dogs dead. Edwards said if David Banner hadn't stepped in, he might be dead.

“I owe him my life, I do,” he said.

“He’s our hero, said Edwards' daughter Kathy Westall.

The two surviving pit bulls are at the Barrow County Animal Shelter, but not for long.

“The two remaining dogs were surrendered by their owner and will be euthanized tomorrow, and then the remains will be analyzed for rabies,” said Barrow County Animal Control Director Stephen Eades.

Edwards and his daughters are now hoping he won't need rabies shots and that he'll soon be out of the hospital. They hope other dog owners learn from his ordeal.

“They need to restrain their dogs, dogs don't need to be running free,” he said. “It’s bad what happened but if it had been a child they child would not have made it."

Labels: animal, GA

Neighbor shoots dog as it attacks puppies

A man shot his neighbor's dog that he said was attacking his three puppies, the sheriff's office reports.

In an early morning incident east of Bradenton, Willard Merchant, 18, said his neighbor's Rottweiler attacked his three puppies in his backyard, and so he injured the dog with a shotgun blast. A Manatee County Sheriff's Office report called the incident "shooting of a vicious dog."

Merchant lives in the 5200 block of 47th Street East. The shooting took place at 7:45 a.m. today.

An injured puppy died en route to a veterinarian, and the Rottweiler was treated and released, the sheriff's report said.

The Rottweiler had previously been deemed aggresssive and Animal Control responded for follow up, the report said.

Labels: animal, FL

Neighborhood horrified as bear attacks beloved dogs

The commotion started about a quarter to seven, as Tiffany Barnes dressed for a day of beauty school. It would take 22 hours, a shotgun blast and a dead black bear before her Moore Haven neighborhood would feel safe again.

Missy, the Jack Russell terrier, whimpered and growled at Tiffany's feet on Thursday morning. She pulled her curtain back and looked into the back yard.

Clear as the sunrise, she saw one of her father's puppies, the one she called Lucius, hanging from the mouth of an enormous black bear.

She called to her mother. Her mother screamed for her dad.

"Sam, there's a bear outside!"

Lucius was gone. His litter mate, the one Tiffany called Asisaly, lay dead with her skin ripped away. Under the bushes lay Sam Barnes' faithful Catahoula Leopard dog, the best hog-hunting dog he'd ever owned. It was eviscerated.

"I've never seen my dad cry until that bear took his dog," said Tiffany Barnes, 18. "He was my dad's best friend."

State wildlife officials believe the bear killed five pets on the outskirts of Moore Haven in Glades County this week. They set a trap and planned to euthanize the animal. But a hail of buckshot cut short the bear's final meal early Friday morning.

Dennis Griffin, Barnes' neighbor, turned his shotgun on the bear after losing his second hunting dog in four days, state wildlife officials said. Fearing reprisals from environmentalists, Griffin said he didn't want to talk about the incident.

Florida black bears are a threatened species. A spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that because shooting them is a third-degree felony, information on the incident would be passed along to the state attorney's office. It was undecided whether charges would be filed against Griffin.

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Labels: animal, FL

Man shoots bear in self-defense

Maryland Natural Resources Police said Friday they will not charge an Amish Road man who shot a bear after it charged him and his wife and then attempted to come through a window after the couple sought refuge inside their home Wednesday evening.

“They had every right to do what they did,” said Clarissa Harris, a biologist with the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. “It is appropriate to defend yourself or your family or your livestock.”

NRP Sgt. Ken Turner said Friday that the husband and wife heard commotion outside their house and then saw a bear trying to get at two penned goats.

“The man said he shouted at the bear and the bear turned and ran toward the couple. He told the investigating officer that he was glad nobody was seated on the porch because the bear moved so quickly that they would not have had time to get into the house,” Turner said.

The bear then attempted to pull an air conditioning unit out of the window frame as the wife held onto the unit from inside.

The husband grabbed a shotgun, loaded it with No. 4 pellets and shot through the window at the bear, according to Turner.

The couple called Maryland State Police at 7:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m. a NRP officer arrived to find the bear struck in the head and neck area and lying, still alive, in the yard. Turner said the officer then put the bear down.

“We were not dealing with a typical black bear, it seems,” Turner said, referring to the aggressive actions of the animal.

Harris said there is evidence that the bear, a 134-pound lactating female, may have been previously injured by an automobile. “There was a rash, lost hair and scrapes,” Harris said. “We have also sent the head away to be tested for rabies.” Harris said there was no evidence of cubs being nearby.

The location of the incident is described as Amish Road not far south of Intestate 68. Because it has brought no charges in the matter, the NRP would not release the family’s name.

Harris said the family did the correct thing by calling the agency right away. “There is a new law in effect that requires people to report that they have shot a bear,” she said.

Bear tests positive for rabies

The aggressive bear that was killed a week ago by an Amish Road homeowner after the animal charged and then attempted to pull out a window air conditioner has tested positive for rabies, a Garrett County health official said Tuesday.

“We sent the head to our health and mental hygiene lab in Baltimore on Thursday and got the results Friday,” said Steve Sherrard, director of environmental health for the county’s health department.

At 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, the homeowners had heard a commotion outside and saw a bear attempting to get at two penned goats. When the husband hollered at the bear, it wheeled and charged the man and his wife, who retreated into their house. At that point, the bear attempted to pull out the air conditioner while the wife held onto it from inside.

The husband then shot the bear through the window, striking it with No. 4 shotgun pellets in the head and neck. The bear was eventually put down by a Natural Resources Police officer.

“After consulting medical personnel at Sacred Heart (Hospital), the family, including two children, will be getting the post-exposure rabies shots,” Sherrard said. “Apparently the exposure to blood came when they were cleaning up the house where the bear had made contact.”

Harry Spiker, who heads the bear management program for the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service, said that neither the police officer nor a wildlife employee who responded will receive shots.

“Our wildlife staff all have the pre-exposure vaccine,” he said.

NRP said the homeowners were acting in self defense and will not be charged for shooting the bear. They have not been identified.

Labels: animal, MD

Pit Bulls Come Into Home, Maul Woman

A home invasion, of sorts, in Washington state has left a woman badly injured, but her attackers weren't human, they were dogs.

Police in Pierce County says two pit bull terriers broke into the victim's home through a pet door and attacked the woman who was in her bed.

She managed to grab a gun and tried to shoot the dogs, enabling her to get away and lock herself in her car. From there, she was able to call 911.

The woman is hospitalized in serious condition.

Police say the pit bulls also killed a neighbor's Jack Russell terrier, which apparently heard the noises coming from the home and went inside.

Police used pepper spray and fought the dogs to get them under control. It's expected the animals will be destroyed.

Labels: animal, WA

Woman mauled by black bear at Wildcat Lake home

What was meant to only be a scare tactic ended poorly for a Central Kitsap woman who was attacked by a black bear on her Wildcat Lake property last Wednesday.

Although the rain has washed most of the evidence of the struggle away, there was still a pool of blood left behind from where the mauling took place.

An un-welcomed visitor that ravaged the property on a regular basis, the bear had outstayed its welcome.

In an attempt to try and scare the more than 300-pound black bear after spotting it on her property last Wednesday morning, the woman, a retired Navy doctor and volunteer Search and Rescue worker who wishes to remain unnamed, shot off her .30-06-caliber rifle, hitting the bear.

After watching it run off into the heavily wooded area that sits behind the couple’s home, the woman and her husband, went in search of the bear to kill it to prevent an attack on them or hikers who frequent the area. The couple began their search by heading over the ridge in the direction where the bear took off running.

Searching together, but letting her go ahead on the trail, it wasn’t long before the couple met the bear on a more intimate level than they expected.

“The bear was taller than I was,” her husband said. “He was hiding in the brush ... then I heard movement and started walking behind her.”

Hiding in the brush, the bear then sprang out at the woman, upon which she fired again at the bear, however it took her head in its jaw with razor sharp teeth. Nicking her jugular vein and leaving deep teeth marks over her face and neck, her head was literally inside the mouth of the bear.

Not missing a beat, her husband shot five rounds into the bear with a .460 Magnum, killing the bear before it could kill his wife. The handgun had so much power, upon the recoil, he suffered a severe thumb injury, almost severing it.

“I suspect that this was his territory,” he said while pointing to the densely wooded trees and underbrush. “He was so big ... people walk back there and it was our responsibility to protect other hikers.”

He added that when he was firing the rounds into the bear, his wife said she couldn’t hear the shots being fired from inside the bear’s mouth. The couple, both with extensive medical training, then bandaged themselves up and drove to Naval Hospital Bremerton where nurses then contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife. The woman, who required surgery, was released Thursday night with a series of stitches and staples lining her face and neck and her husband with stitches around his thumb and hand.

“(They) live in a very heavily wooded area, the bear was a problem wandering on her property,” said Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Ted Jackson. “Kitsap County has a high population of (black) bears ... her husband killed it when it was on top of her.”

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Labels: animal, WA

Homeowner kills charging pit bull

A homeowner in Palmer shot and wounded a pit bull after it charged at him.

Police say they went to the home last week and found two pit bulls had escaped from a nearby residence. 1 of the dogs charged a neighbor.

Police say the dog tried jumping through the neighbor's screen door last week. When it tried again, police say the homeowner shot it.

The dog's owner arrived within minutes and took the wounded dog to the North Star Animal Hospital.

Police say while discharging a firearm is against a city ordinance, the homeowner was well within his rights in trying to defend himself and his home from the dangerous dog.

Labels: AK, animal

Rabid skunk illustrates need for caution against disease

Jolie Zulkowski said the first indication something was amiss was when her son's dog started barking outside.

She went out and found a skunk.
"It wandered up underneath our truck on Sunday morning," said Zulkowski, who lives in the Cottonwood area.

Her daughter's boyfriend killed the skunk with a shotgun, and the family preserved the carcass and took it to Fort Bend Animal Control on Monday. The animal tested positive for rabies, the family learned Tuesday.

This is the first time she has seen a skunk on her property.

"If you know anything about the country, a skunk in the daytime is normally not a good sign," she said.

Skunks are nocturnal animals, and daytime activity usually means they're rabid, she said.

Her son's dog, the same dog that barked at the skunk, is now in quarantine, where it must remain for 45 days. All of the animals on her property were given booster shots as a precaution.

Labels: animal, TX

Security guard shoots pit bull during attack

Owners of a pit bull face vicious dog charges after their dog attacked a security guard near Leetsdale Drive and East Mississippi Avenue in unincorporated Arapahoe County Monday night.

The security guard for Veterans Security Services was driving on South Alton Street just south of Mississippi when he heard a loud noise.

The guard told Arapahoe County Sheriff's deputies a loose pit bull attacked him when he got out of his vehicle.

Witnesses told deputies the guard tried fighting the dog off but when it did not stop, the guard pulled out his gun and fired a single shot. The dog was hit in the right shoulder.

The dog scampered off and laid down in a yard about a block away. An Arapahoe County Animal Control officer took the dog to a nearby animal hospital.

The pit bull is now in the care of its owner's veterinarian.

Dr. Chaney Lupe, a veterinarian with Deer Creek Animal Hospital in Littleton, told 9NEWS on Tuesday afternoon that the dog's owners are "weighing their options" on how to treat the pit bull.

The owner returned to the neighborhood Tuesday afternoon and told witnesses the dog was 8-months-old and may lose its leg.

Arapahoe County Sheriff's deputies investigated the incident and determined the guard was defending himself. Sheriff Grayson Robinson told 9NEWS the owners may be charged with owning a vicious dog and having a dog on the loose.

The sheriff's department has not yet released the name of the dog's owner.

It is legal to own a pit bull in Arapahoe County and there is no leash law per say [sic]. However, according to county ordinance, dogs do need to be "under control" of the owner at all times. The ordinance describes "under control" to be either on a leash or under verbal control of the owner.

Labels: animal, CO

Pit bull killed by Wine Country resident

The task should have been prosaic for Frank Canson: Walk down the sloping driveway, open the 42-inch-high gate and grab the Sunday newspaper.

Instead, a ferocious pit bull that neighbors say has wrought havoc in this community of estate homes lurked at the gate, Canson said.

He soon shot it dead.

As Canson approached the gate Sunday morning, the 40- to 45-pound pit bull jumped up against it, snarling at him, the former San Diego police officer said, but the animal didn't get over the gate onto his side.

Canson, 59, said he slowly backed up the driveway before reaching his house, where he got his 9mm semiautomatic handgun. He returned to the gate, this time with the gun, but the pit bull ---- and two accompanying dogs ---- had vanished.

Or so Canson thought.

He opened the gate, only to find the newspaper shredded, its pieces strewn across Meng Asbury Road, he said. He knelt on the dirt road, placed the gun down and began picking up the pieces ---- when the pit bull and its companions returned.

Canson said the pit bull was within 20 feet of him when he began firing his weapon. The second or third bullet, Canson believes, struck the dog, who was maimed and struggling.

"It yelped, and I could see it limping," he said.

The pit bull limped to his neighbor's property, where Canson shot it dead.

"It was down, and obviously suffering. It was the appropriate thing to do," said Canson, who, along with his wife, has four dogs.

Remarkably, the owner of that adjacent property ---- Ralph Fonseca, 48 ---- said he slept through the presumably earsplitting incident, in which Canson said he fired 15 rounds.

Sheriff's deputies responded and decided not to cite Canson, said Investigator Jerry Franchville.

"You can't just (shoot a dog) for sport," Franchville said. "But if you feel like you're in danger, you have to defend yourself."

The dog's owner couldn't be reached for comment Monday.

Residents said Canson's encounter was the latest in a string of incidents involving the dogs along Meng Asbury and Monte de Oro.

Sunday wasn't the first time county officials had visited the neighborhood.

Fonseca's 19-year-old daughter, Vanessa, had tried to calm the pit bull when it approached her and her friend recently, but it only got more vicious, she said.

Canson's wife, Kelli, had complained to county Animal Control in the weeks before Sunday's incident, alleging the pit bull and friends had threatened her.

"It's been weeks that we've been menaced," she said. "We felt imprisoned on our property."

A neighbor warned Animal Control he and others would arm themselves if the dog returned, Kelli Canson said.

The department fielded three phone calls before Sunday, said Rita Gutierrez, Animal Control's field services commander.

An investigator for the department believes the owners of the dogs were abiding by her instruction to secure them on the property, Gutierrez said. The investigator asked that the dogs be tied up, she added.

Yet, observers Monday afternoon saw the two remaining dogs roaming the streets, lurking near the Cansons' and Fonsecas' properties.

"They gotta do something, get them tied up," Ralph Fonseca said.