Would not want to mess with one. Would have shot an attacking bullmastiff also, given the same circumstances.
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.
How will pepper spray do against any of these dogs?
I have it, I carry it, but if it will just tick them off, I would rather carry something else.
A good and bad reply.
The hamstring information is valid and very good advice. You got into the mind of the dog with that. Just be VERY careful, and faster than you ever thought you could be.
The MYTH about pitbulls’ being able to lock their jaws is just that, a MYTH. They have very strong jaw muscles, but other than size and the musculature, there is absolutely NO difference between the jaw structure of a pit bull and a chihuahua.
Ask any vet.
“WTF authority do they have? Pound sand.”
Because they are the defacto standard in determining animal abuse. They do that in between killing the animals which are not adoptable.
Would not want to mess with one. Would have shot an attacking bullmastiff also, given the same circumstances.
They don’t have any authority,but they have lawyers.Lots of lawyers.
I’m not saying it’s a true “lock”, but the jaw muscles of a Staffordshire are really impressive and those muscles will not go lax quickly enough to save another dog who he has in a death grip even if you cut his throat.
That is what I mean by you will still have to pry his jaws apart.
And yeah, be prepared to lose the use of a hand for a while if you grab the hamstring of a medium to large dog. They are fast!
“Only if you can attempt to put the lawful use of a handgun in a bad light.”
What kind of an ignorant, limp wristed, brainless, dumba$$ would want to do a @#!$%#@ *$%^#!! like that?
And how long do you think those jaws would stand up to my castration knife. I could cut his whole head off in less than a minute.
Case just about like that one happened to me while I was walking my dogs. Saw a lady coming my way on the other side of the street with a dog she was having a hard time keeping under control. I kept mine in check and passed by.
Didn’t go 10 yards when I heard her holler and saw her dog out of the corner of my eye coming up on my Black & Tan.
B&T was game and fight on. Took a bit to get them apart but I think mine got the best of it.
There are about 3 ladies in the neighborhood who walk large dogs they can’t control. Now, most of the time I take a side street to go around them.
A bullet can calm a BullMAstiff right down.. and make it friendlier..
That woman had no business owning that dog. If you cannot maintain the role of Alpha, get rid of the dog.
. . . a former professional dog trainer . . . agreed with her that Flato wasn’t dangerous.
One man's dog trainer is another man's village idiot.
Allah Akbar!
Oh crap. So the fear would come from the sting of the spray?
I’m not sure I’ll run into a dog who is fearful of mine.
She is a 10 pound Papillon. I think she could outrun most of these dogs, but if they got her, she would be nothing but a tasty treat.
LOL, have field dressed many deer.
probably legit shot but breed specific asshats can kiss my butt
u kill my dog though for any reason and i will probably get yours in time..i will always avenge my boy
I’m a dog lover, but this was absolutely unavoidable. The woman who owned the bullmastiff is the one responsible for the death of her own dog and the injury sustained by the greyhound.
People should NEVER own a dog they can’t control.
YOU shouldn't have owned a dog you CAN'T CONTROL!!!!
Flato won’t be attacking any more dogs. Or anything else for that matter. Case closed.
both this psychotic lady and supposed “Trainer” said the dog was not dangerous....it dragged it’s owner 15 feet before the owner could not physically hold on any longer, attacked a dog across the street, did not leg go of it’s deathgrip on the other dog, even while being kicked by the other dogs owner, until the other dogs owner was left with no other option but to shoot it...... sorry, but this thing was dangerous and needed to be put down..
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