Man Shoots His Pet Dog After It Attacked, Bit Him During Walk

A 76-year-old man from Redwood City, California, shot and killed his pet Mastiff on Wednesday after it reportedly attacked and bit him in the leg while they were out for a walk, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said.

Soon after the incident, the man was rushed to a hospital in order to stop the bleeding in his leg, which was allegedly caused after the huge Mastiff bit him, Sheriff’s Detective Salvador Zuno said. However, it was not clear what provoked the dog to bite his owner.

While the owner was not immediately arrested, the sheriff’s office has been investigating why the mastiff, a large breed that is typically known to have a calm demeanor, bit the man and why the owner was carrying a loaded handgun.

"He has not been arrested, but there are issues that are going to be addressed, including why he had this weapon out in public, and if he felt this animal was a danger, why did he have it in public," Zuno said.

Zuno also mentioned that the incident was uncharacteristic for a mastiff.

"They’re not known to be violent,” he said. “This is an unfortunate situation."

The man did not possess a permit to carry a concealed weapon, according to the sheriff’s office.

The attack took place around 2 p.m. EST on Wednesday when the deputies were called to the 1300 block of Elmer Street in unincorporated Belmont in order to assist medically as the incident involved a man with injuries. Zuno said that they arrived to find the injured man "and the remains of a large dog," according to a sheriff’s office news release.

"From the on-scene investigation, deputies learned the man was walking his large mastiff and while doing so the dog began to attack him," the Sheriff’s Office said. "The attack did not stop until the man pulled out a handgun, shot and killed the dog."

The dog’s remains were taken by the Peninsula Humane Society, which confirmed that the animal had a history of biting people after scanning the ID on its collar, Mercury News reported.

The handgun likely used by the man in the shooting was recovered by the authorities and preserved as an evidence, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The animal’s gender has not been released yet, however, adult mastiffs are expected to grow to weigh between 170 and 230 pounds.

Anyone with information about the incident have been requested to contact the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office at 650-363-4911 or leave an anonymous tip at 800-547-2700.

In a similar incident in Northern Ireland that occurred in December 2016, a man killed, butchered and then cooked his dog. Dominic O’Connor, 28, was jailed for a term of two years in November this year, according to the Independent.

The judge, Piers Grant, who passed down the sentence at Downpatrick Crown Court told O’Connor then: "The killing of this innocent, vulnerable dog has clearly been your calculation for some time."

He added saying: "It is clear that you determined to kill this dog and in doing so inflict on this creature serious cruelty. In any view this behavior is barbaric."