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Police: Pit bull shot after attacking another dog

Posted at 10:51 PM, May 08, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-09 19:30:52-04

City officials in Manitowoc are discussing what to do about a pit bull they say has a history of attacking other dogs after it was shot Monday while allegedly attacking a labrador.

In a press conference Tuesday, police said they're still trying to determine whether the dog should be put down or asked to be removed from the city.

The incident happened just before 5:00 p.m. in the 1600 block of Thomas Court, according to police.

Prior to the attack, police say a neighbor observed the pit bull running loose and enter his neighbor’s yard. Shortly after, he heard a whining and yelping noise and discovered the pit bull had the neighbor’s lab pinned to the ground.

Police say the dog’s owner was yelling at the pit bull but it continued to attack the lab. The dog’s owner and the neighbor attempted to free the lab by hitting the pit bull with a small wooden bat in the back of the head.

After repeated attempts failed to stop the attacking pit bull, the pit bull was shot one time in an attempt to stop the attack, police said.

The pit bull ran off but returned and attacked the lab a second time by biting it underneath its jaw. The pit bull was then shot a second time and ran off where it was captured by the owner’s friends, according to police.

Recent records indicate that this same pit bull aggressively attacked another dog in the City of Two Rivers and had run loose in the City of Manitowoc, police said. 

The pit bull was transported to Lakeshore Animal Shelter. The owner of the pit bull was cited for attacking animal, and at this time police are not pursuing any criminal charges.

The pit bull is at an animal shelter and the lab is at a veterinary hospital.

A city of Manitowoc ordinance prohibits any domestic animals like dogs to roam off of a leash outside a designated enclosure.