Dog wouldn’t let go of owner in attack, so officer shoots it, Pennsylvania police say

A dog turned on its owners in a Pennsylvania attack, and while two adult sons tried hitting the dog with a baseball bat, it refused to let go, according to local news reports.

The dog didn’t release its owner until an officer shot it, according to an incident report from the Philadelphia Police Department.

Police were in the area responding to a “person with a gun” when an officer saw the dog attacking a 41-year-old man shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 24, according to the report.

The dog, which had viciously attacked a husband and wife, would not stop biting the father, according to KYW.

It latched onto the man’s arm and refused to release him, WCAU reported, and only bit down harder when hit with the aluminum baseball bat.

“One police officer from the 25th district fired one shot striking the dog one time in the side and that did its job,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told WPVI. “The dog immediately released his grip, stopped biting this male.”

Police told McClatchy News one of the owners was then able to cage the dog. The man was taken to a hospital, where he is in “critical but stable condition.”

“He’s bit on the head, the neck, several times in his torso, arms and legs and he has some large injuries from the dog bites on his body,” Small told WPVI.

The 38-year-old woman had a bite wound to her left leg and was taken to a hospital, police said. She’s in stable condition.

Police say the couple was attacked in Hunting Park, close to where the family lives in North Philadelphia, according to WPVI.

The couple’s dog, which police described as a pit bull mix, survived, KYW reported, but police did not know its updated condition.

Philadelphia Animal control is investigating the attack, according to WTXF.

This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Dog wouldn’t let go of owner in attack, so officer shoots it, Pennsylvania police say."