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.
So you’re saying we should take you out at the same time as your dangerous dog?
Keep your boy under control and it won't be a problem.
It didn’t need to be put down prior to this incident. It needed an owner who could properly train it.
My wife’s nephew used to raise some big beautiful canines.
neighbors loved them, petted them enjoyed playing with them.
Then the local newspaper interviewed the nephew and found the dogs were half wolf.
Instant change! The neighbors went into such a panic he had to get rid of them.
ANY dog larger than a toy is dangerous under the wrong conditions. The larger the dog, the greater the danger.
I owned Great Danes, and you will never see a gentler breed, but if you can't dominate it, it can be extremely dangerous.
Foolish people attribute human qualities to dogs, but they are, after all, dogs.
The humane society?? Do they have a "law enforcement division?"
Much more succinctly put than my post.
No one could afford the expense of a wasted bullet for a dog back then. The man who killed the dog had available bullets for any persons who got in his way during his moment. No one even dared call the police, and if they had, none of them would have dared respond. The world was smaller back then.
Half wolves are wonderful animals, but they are, after all, half wolf and should never be as trusted as a dog.
Notwithstanding all evidence to the contrary, her dog is still dead and Cooper has a significant neck wound. Ms. Martinez is a moron.
The use of a concealed firearm is the news here...in the opinion of the Colorado Springs Gazette.
That's a good and rightful attitude to have.....
Years ago I worked with a guy who got transferred to one of our plants in Kentucky. He had two huskys that attacked and killed one of his neighbor's cows......That cost him a bunch as well as having to put the dogs down.
Poor greyhound :(
Jeezuzzz How proud you must be of yourself....
Then there’s the flip side. Friend of mine used to raise and train Irish Wolfhounds. She lived in a bad neighborhood.
One day walking her dog with her, some gangbanger thought it would be fun to sick hit pitbull on her very well behaved Wolfhound. Idiot. When the pitbull charged, she had enough time to warn the banger to call it off. Once. He laughed, so she gave the “attack” command.
Patientiently sitting Wolfhound lept at the pitbull and broke its back with one swipe of a truly massive paw. Dead before it hit the ground. Wolfhound calmly returned to her.
Banger went nuts, of course. That is, until the Wolfhound let loose a truly phenomenal growl. About made me pizz my pants, and I wasn’t the target. Pretty sure the banger did.
We calmly walked off. She moved not long after that. (This was 20 years ago.)
She really did have that dog well trained.
PS Biggest problem with that dog is that it thought it was still a puppy sized lapdog. Ooof.
When I was a kid we were given a husky/malamute cross that had killed some pigs. The owners had a new baby and were ‘ignoring’ the dog.
She was a fantastic dog and very protective of her family. She never hurt another thing.
Left to themselves dogs can cause a lot of trouble. Properly trained and led they are great.
You have an awesome looking dog (family too), with a great smile. I love the look of the breed, but I’m not convinced that I could handle one anymore.
I have a 2 year old GSD. He is good natured, complies with my commands very well and responds well to leash corrections. However, in some circumstances he wears a shock-collar as an emergency brake. LOL
Falco has become protective to the extreme.... on only one occasion. I was alone, in the dark, at a “community” campfire while camping on the Oregon coast. 4 creeps approach me. They looked like scum, baggy pants, prison walk, etc. At about 20’ he came unglued. Had I let him off lease, I am sure he would have attacked. I told those guys not to get any closer. Fortunately, these asshats recognized the threat and walked away, quickly.
I am with my dog 24/7 and unless we have him out running, he is seldom more than 20’ from me (I’m retired). I have health issues and he seems to know it. We are best friends and if anyone shot my dog, their life would change in a most significant way...
Again, that is a very good looking breed that you have.
You just don't understand. The dog was an aspiring rapper who was turning his life around....
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