GREENVILLE — A Greenville woman is warning other dog walkers after a stray in her neighborhood attacked and killed her dog.
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It had been over 50 years since Pam Lavy had a dog. She finally got Pius, and for the year and a half she had him, she’d walk him several times a day.
She told News Center 7 that she never expected that one of their walks would turn deadly.
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On June 29, Lavy and Pius went out for their usual stroll when they encountered the unrestrained dog.
“I was talking to a neighbor lady, and I was crossing the street, and it came running from the stop sign,” Lavy explained. “Just it made eye contact with me, and I yelled at it to get away, you know, like hoping that would, but it didn’t seem scared at all.”
She said Pius was on his leash next to her when the loose dog “just grabbed him right in the middle of the stomach.” She added it wouldn’t let go of him.
“I threw my purse down, and I jumped on the back of the dog, and I was trying to pull his legs away so he would lose grip,” she said.
Pius did not survive.
Now, Lavy wants other dog owners, especially people in the area of Pearl Street and Euclid Avenue, to know the dog is still on the loose.
“All my neighbors, I went around with a picture of the dog to warn them. No one can find it,” Lavy said.
She suggested dog owners carry something, like pepper spray, with them to protect themselves while out walking their dogs.
The Greenville Police Department and Darke County Dog Warden are investigating the incident.
In a statement, Greenville Police Lieutenant Joseph Monnin said authorities don’t believe there is an ongoing threat to the public.
“There have been no reported or confirmed sightings of the unrestrained canine within the past seven days,” Monnin said.
The police department also asks residents to report any loose animals or owners failing to properly restrain their pets outside of their private property to them at (937) 548-1103.
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