Posted on 03/04/2011 9:00:24 AM PST by marktwain
The owner of a 70-pound greyhound said Thursday that he exhausted all options before pulling his handgun on a 140-pound dog that had latched its jaws around his greyhound’s neck.
“I had no choice but to shoot into the dog and kill him,” Robert McCombs said.
Tammy Martinez, who owned the dog shot to death, was served a summons Thursday afternoon on suspicion of unlawful ownership of a dangerous animal, a misdemeanor, according to Joe Stafford, director of animal services at the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. Martinez identifed her dog as a bullmastiff.
The incident left McCombs’ 6-year-old greyhound, Cooper, with a gash to his neck requiring five staples. Martinez’s dog was not injured by Cooper, Stafford said.
McCombs was walking Cooper about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 4800 block of El Camino when he said he heard a woman across the street “having some trouble” with her dog. He didn’t turn toward her, however, until he heard yelling. The dog was dragging Martinez, he said.
“He blasted across (the street) and came right at us,” McCombs said. “They fought just a little tiny bit and then that dog clamped down on my dog’s neck.”
Grabbing the bullmastiff’s leash, he tried pulling the dog away from the Cooper but the dog did not relent, causing him to drag both, McCombs said.
He said he kicked the bullmastiff before pulling his gun.
“I told her one last time, I said ‘Get your dog off or I’m going to kill him,’” McCombs said. “The lady was yelling things... and he was not responding to anything at all. She might as well have been a stranger to that dog.
“I could see that my dog was dying because his eyes got real red.”
A tearful Tammy Martinez told The Gazette her dog Flato wasn’t dangerous and shouldn’t have been killed.
Martinez moved to Colorado Springs from Corpus Christi, Texas, with Flato and two other dogs in October, a few months after her husband, Ruben, died from cancer. Flato was a stray the couple took in seven years ago.
Flato was very loving, she said, referring to him as her “dog with the waggly tail.”
“When you sing songs to him, you can hear that thing thumping,” she said.
When Flato saw the greyhound and darted toward it, Martinez fell and was dragged about 15 feet across a grass slope and a sidewalk, causing her to lose her hold on the leash, she said.
“If he was aggressive, he would have went after the owner in self-defense” when kicked, Martinez said.
McCombs shot the attacking dog twice, killing it, Colorado Springs police said. He had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, police said, and appeared to be “within the guidelines of the law” when firing his handgun.
The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region is investigating whether the shooter was justified in firing on the bullmastiff, Stafford said.
“I’m not going to say this is a straight-forward case,” said Stafford. “I don’t ever jump to conclusions. I want to be as objective, impartial and thorough as possible.”
Bullmastiffs are among the dogs banned from Fort Carson under a policy restricting so-called aggressive breeds that also include Rottweilers, pitbulls and Doberman pinschers.
Martinez’s friend, Shawna Pugmire, a former professional dog trainer, was consoling Martinez on Thursday and agreed with her that Flato wasn’t dangerous.
“I let my 6-year-old play with Flato,” Pugmire said. “Given a couple seconds, I have no doubt he would have responded to Tammira (Martinez). And it would have been a whole different outcome for him.”
McCombs said there was a “noticeable difference” in Cooper’s temperment after the incident.
“Most greyhounds are timid anyway — he’s really, really shy,” McCombs said. “I hope he goes back to his playful self once he gets all healed up.”
— Gazette staff writer Lance Benzel contributed to this report.
Careful those ticks carry disease and the thorns can be mighty uncomfortable.
You are a liar.
But when I run down my list for dog attacks I know #1 is true, she slips the leash and #2 is true, #3 is true with the neighbors dog (when I came to get her with the muzzle), I can DAMN sure make sure that #4 isn't true.
#1 Large and/or aggressive breed of dog?
#2 Running loose/ often >1 running loose?
#3 Prior reports of aggression?
#4 Unrealistic assessment of the aggressiveness of the dog (often despite #3 above)?
Thanks!!!!
You are a lamer who can’t admit they’re wrong.
:)
And I can state that you are very a responsible dog owner.
[and believe me, that is probably the highest compliment ~anyone~ can receive from me]
“Show me how you treat your dog and I’ll tell you who you are”
Just about says it all, right there.
:)
Your dog is one lucky pup.
“Careful those ticks carry disease and the thorns can be mighty uncomfortable.”
Seriously?
That’s all you’ve got?
Sorry but I don’t think I can revert to a 3rd grade mentality in order to post a commensurate reply.
No I’m not a lamer or a 3rd grader and I wasn’t the one that brought this thread to the attention of the moderators. If I’m going to do that I will do it publicly as I have here.
When someone says “Falco has become protective to the extreme” and “At about 20’ he came unglued.” it means they have a dangerous dog. When they revel in how mean their dog is they are no different than the gang banger with a pit bull. Dogs who behave like that are dangerous. They hurt and kill people all the time. The dogs usually pay with their lives but its their owners fault. Just as in this case.
And when someone says “u kill my dog though for any reason and i will probably get yours in time..i will always avenge my boy” it means they are refusing to accept responsibility for their animal. If applied to this case it would be the dead dogs owner killing the surviving dog when it was clearly the problem.
So yeah I have a problem with dog owners who cannot control their animals and refuse to accept responsibility. Its hardly a conservative value to seek revenge when you are clearly in the wrong.
Have a good life.
It's your smear tactic.
You have some axe to grind with folks who don't share your pollyanna view of generalized minority behavior.
And on the extremely rare time I've hit the abuse button on anyone...once for extreme vulgarity, once for blatant anti Jewishness, once when a poster said blacks should not be allowed to immigrate here just based on skin color and not any other qualifier and the last time when I thought folks were disgustingly crude and callous on the CBS reporter Lara rape-assault thread a few weeks ago (ignored btw ).
Those times in 10 years I've hit the abuse button it's been public and I told the poster on open thread.
You deserve it. You can go to TBF or elsewhere and anti freep with other race card addicts.
“You call folks bigot all the time here when you don’t like what they have to say and run to the mod whining with apple in hand.”
So you shouldn’t have a hard time finding an example of me calling folks a “bigot” since I do it “all the time”.
I have watched you do it and have you pegged as one who calls folks bigot or racist whenever it suits you like the forum is eat up with racist posts and you Mr Race Avenger..simply must ferret us out but yet when you do on occasion chuckle over some generalized racial comment then you excuse that since you are after all cleaning up the forum of racism. I think you're an ass. I just played the asscard. I confess. Go tell the mod to save you. If you really believe that FR is full of racism and can find a mod who agrees then so be it. I think that is tripe. Utter self serving BS. This forum has very little overt racism. A few folks have tried to infiltrate from time to time but are usually dismissed. Race card lovers like you though think otherwise and flourish. And I think..just me, I'm no mod...don't even know one...think you guys are the real scourge. Now I have to go actually work a little replacing a Watts valve..if anyone knows what that is so have fun. I don't think you're like Satan or nothing but I just don't like folks who point race fingers at those of us living it out here while our culture crumbles around us and you act like we should just ignore the obvious since the obvious makes folks squirm.
To: cripplecreek
I’ve frequently slammed posts on FR that were racist and so I will.Brokaw can go suck a spoiled egg.
The racism displayed today was astounding.
And I’d much rather my car break down in the country surrounded by red necks than anyplace in Chicago.
33 posted on Tue Jan 20 2009 18:22:38 GMT-0600 (Central
Standard Time) by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]
I commented on peoples having dangerous dogs and reveling in the how mean they were.
I commented on your willingness to kill other peoples animals as revenge regardless of why your dog was killed.
You are the only one thats brought up racism. Yes racism does exist on FR. I’ve never said it was to the level you are implying.
I’ve copied the mod because of your personal attacks. Because you attacked me for going to the mod when I had not. You were factually incorrect but that doesn’t bother you. You keep making the emotional attacks that have nothing to do with this thread.
You still have not provided the example. I’m not surprised because you cannot. I’ve never said the things you are accusing me of.
Good morning dripdiver.
I see that you have chosen to mix it up with two other longstanding, credible and knowledgeable dog loving FReepers.
I write to let you know that you do not need to copy me with any of your posts. I no longer care about anything that you might post.
You do need to read this very quickly, as I very much expect that the continuation of my sarcastic attitude, directed at a person that attacked me, without cause, about a very well mannered and loving dog, will result in this post being deleted.
I don’t suffer fools well and I have never liked ignorant and arrogant liars. I do accept that there are some in our society whose brains failed to evolve and I accept that this is not their fault. I liken this mental deficit to that of the poor folks that ate paint chips when they were kids.
I do want to take the time to thank you for yesterday. Between you and the moderator, I now have about $45 a month that I get to spend on other things....THANKS.
I accept the fact that you and I will never become pen-pals or bbq buddies... I know, it’s sad, but sometimes that’s just how life goes.
I don’t know if this news will sadden you as much as it does me, but I lost one of my ducks last night. Her name was mini mom. Mini mom and her life-mate have been breeding, so they would have had a family this Spring.
Having studied the crime scene, I have determined that the killer is a vicious Raccoon. This heartless creature didn’t even eat her, it just killed mini mom and left it’s remains. I have set a trap. Your learned guidance to me has made me rethink what I had planned to do to dispatch the Coon once I trap it. I was thinking of simply shooting the Coon in the head while it was still in the trap.
Now I’m thinking of taking advantage of having such a vicious child killing dog. Perhaps I’ll just wing it and let it crawl out of the trap, allowing my Satan dog to chase it down to finish it off.
Please know that I fill my posts to you with wisecracks, crude jokes, sarcasm and mostly nonsense because you have proven to me that you deserve little more.
Please know that I love and respect you just as much today as I did yesterday.
I do wish you to have a good day, or at least the kind of day that you so richly deserve.
well golly gee willerkers, that just breaks my heart.
lol...ur funnier than me for sure
;>)
And what, exactly, does *any* of that have to do with falsely accusing Wardaddy _in writing on a public forum_ of threatening to murder someone?
He could, if he wanted, nail you for libel, I think.
Somebody made a false accusation about me on Yahoo once and they revoked her account, deleted her business website and banned her...just for saying something *much less* serious.
[I didn’t bother to sue her blind although my lawyer said I could]
And I rest my case...here you are [again] whining to the MODs.
Do you think they have nothing better to do than babysit you?
Theirs is a serious job and you’re little more than a joke.
I’ve hit the abuse button a couple times.
Once for a horribly gory photo posted where kids could possibly see it and then several times on my own posts.
[hot linked images, iffy hyperlinks, stuff like that]
So, I guess I’m 99% guilty of *self* abuse....:))
Obviously the boy’s never met any real rednecks...or worse yet, hillbillies.
I don’t reckon they’d take to him very well.
[he should have chosen Chicago, instead]....:)
“I commented on your willingness to kill other peoples animals as revenge regardless of why your dog was killed.”
Uh, your bike’s broke, dude.
It’s back peddling something fierce.
You -specifically- accused WD of threatening to kill a PERSON.
Go back and re-read your own rants.
“personal attacks”
LMAO!
Poor baby.
Stop sobbing into your apron.
Suck it up and take the replies you get like a man...*or* stop dishing out libelous BS.
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