Police shoot pit bull puppy

Police on Saturday shot and wounded a pit bull puppy they say was charging officers.

Police were called at 6 p.m. to the 100 block of Boltin Street on a report of two pit bulls and a bull mastiff on the loose that were aggressive, charging at people and trying to attack other dogs in the neighborhood.

The stray dogs were caught, but not before one of the dogs fled to an alley in the 100 block of McReynolds Street. There, two other dogs — described as a large pit bull and a medium sized pit bull — were growling at officers and came out from a fenced-in yard to charge at police, reports stated.

An officer fired a shotgun at the dogs, striking the smaller animal. Both pit bulls then ran back through an opening in the fence, according to the police report.

Following the incident, a large crowd of neighbors gathered, some becoming unruly, which resulted in one arrest for disorderly conduct.

The owner of the dog that was shot, 30-year-old Curtis Gifford, was issued a summons for failure to control dogs.

Curtis, who owns a licensed kennel, disputes that his show dogs charged police. He said he thinks his dog was shot while inside his fenced-in yard.

"I show my dogs. This is a show dog. This is a dog that will never be able to be shown again. I paid $5,000 for this dog," he said.

The dog was taken by Animal Resource Center officers to an emergency veterinary clinic.