A dog was killed by a police sergeant's bullet Tuesday morning after the animal attacked its owner inside a house, then bolted loose into the vicinity of Carroll Fowler Elementary School.
The animal was an American bulldog, not a pitbull as police reported earlier.
Police received 911 calls at 8:53 a.m. from neighbors who heard a woman screaming inside a house in the 2100 block of Eloise. The dog had clamped down on the arm of the 24-year-old resident. Officers arrived a short time later and heard the woman's cries for help. They kicked the door down because it was locked, said Public Information Officer Michele Houston. When the door opened, the dog ran out the front door towards Garrison Avenue.
Officers corraled the dog away from Carroll Fowler Elementary School. The dog ran eastward to the 2800 block of Garrison Avenue, where the dog continued to show signs of aggression, said Houston. Police tried to keep the dog corraled until Animal Services staff arrived but then it lunged toward officers and Sgt. Pat Sullivan fatally shot the dog.
Ceres Police and Fire personnel provided medical attention to the victim, who was transported to a Modesto area hospital.
The dog's owner, Scott Meyers said the dog was a family pet that lived inside the home. The dog apparently paid a lot of attention to the couple's newborn son to "the point of annoyance," he said. Meyers believes he knows why the dog attacked. His wife was feeding the baby and it choked, prompting her to pat him on the back. The baby let out a cry and then the dog bit the mother's arm and would not let go.
The victim made her way to a bathroom carrying the baby with one arm as the dog had a hold of the other. Meyers said his wife managed to set the baby down and halfway close the door on the dog. She got him to let go of her arm by pinching his nose shut with her free hand.
Doctors later removed one of the dog's teeth from the wound.
Meyers believes his the dog was frightened by the officers because its ears were down and he had his tail between his legs. He thinks the dog was trying to make its way back into the house but the officers were not allowing it inside.
"I'm not justifying what he did. I would have put him down anyway because of what he did but we feel terrible about what happened," said Meyers.
The animal was an American bulldog, not a pitbull as police reported earlier.
Police received 911 calls at 8:53 a.m. from neighbors who heard a woman screaming inside a house in the 2100 block of Eloise. The dog had clamped down on the arm of the 24-year-old resident. Officers arrived a short time later and heard the woman's cries for help. They kicked the door down because it was locked, said Public Information Officer Michele Houston. When the door opened, the dog ran out the front door towards Garrison Avenue.
Officers corraled the dog away from Carroll Fowler Elementary School. The dog ran eastward to the 2800 block of Garrison Avenue, where the dog continued to show signs of aggression, said Houston. Police tried to keep the dog corraled until Animal Services staff arrived but then it lunged toward officers and Sgt. Pat Sullivan fatally shot the dog.
Ceres Police and Fire personnel provided medical attention to the victim, who was transported to a Modesto area hospital.
The dog's owner, Scott Meyers said the dog was a family pet that lived inside the home. The dog apparently paid a lot of attention to the couple's newborn son to "the point of annoyance," he said. Meyers believes he knows why the dog attacked. His wife was feeding the baby and it choked, prompting her to pat him on the back. The baby let out a cry and then the dog bit the mother's arm and would not let go.
The victim made her way to a bathroom carrying the baby with one arm as the dog had a hold of the other. Meyers said his wife managed to set the baby down and halfway close the door on the dog. She got him to let go of her arm by pinching his nose shut with her free hand.
Doctors later removed one of the dog's teeth from the wound.
Meyers believes his the dog was frightened by the officers because its ears were down and he had his tail between his legs. He thinks the dog was trying to make its way back into the house but the officers were not allowing it inside.
"I'm not justifying what he did. I would have put him down anyway because of what he did but we feel terrible about what happened," said Meyers.
