Deputy shoots pit bull during disturbance call in Pioneer Valley

By DELANIA TRIGG, City Editor Gainesville Daily Register

Pioneer Valley — A Pioneer Valley woman said she’s heartbroken about her dog’s injuries after a Cooke County Deputy shot the dog last week.

Tabatha Ervin said she didn’t actually witness the encounter between the deputy and the dog.

“Me and my husband was arguing and I’m the one that actually called the police. When they came out they stayed outside at least 40 minutes, and the officers went back and forth talking between themselves about the case,” she said.

She eventually decided to stay with a friend for the rest of the night to diffuse the situation so she entered her home with one of the deputies to get some clothes. The shots were fired while she and the deputy were inside the house, she said.

“One of the officers walked into the house with me and closed the door behind him. I went in to get my clothes since I had to work the next day. We heard two gunshots, a pause and then four more shots,” she said.

Ervin said her pit bull, Diamond, ran away and was gone for two days.

When the dog returned, Ervin said she took her pet to a Gainesville veterinary clinic where Diamond was treated for multiple gunshot wounds, the worst of which was a shattered shoulder which will require amputation of the dog’s front leg as well as the fragmented bones of her shoulder.

The sight of her injured dog was heart-breaking, she said, and she doesn’t think her dog was a threat to the deputy.

“We heard no barking, no growling. She’s so sweet. She’s just our baby. If she (approached the deputy) I think she was just trying to get into the house. She’s a house dog,” she said.

Like many other pit bull owners, Ervin said the dogs can be good pets under the right conditions.

“I don’t care what they say about pit bulls. It’s how you raise them,” she said.

She also said she believes her dog was running away from the officer at the time the last four shots were fired.

“The vet can tell you that, based on the angle of four of the shots, (the dog) was running away from (the officer) when he was shooting some of the shots,” she said.

She said her vet prescribed some pain medicine, an anti-inflammatory and antibiotics.

Sheriff Mike Compton has a different opinion on the incident.

He said his deputies have been to Ervin’s residence 13 times in the past seven months.

“The deputy was outside of the house for a legitimate reason when the dog attacked the deputy. The deputy barely had time to defend himself before the dog got on him,” he said.

He also said the deputy believes the dog jumped a fence to get to him.

In addition, Compton pointed that state laws allows all residents to protect themselves from dangerous animals.

“Texas law allows anyone to use deadly force on a dog that is attacking them. The deputy did what he had to do to keep himself from suffering severe injury from this anima.

Compton, himself a dog owner, said deputies aren’t in the business of shooting resident’s dogs.

“Deputies don’t shoot dogs or any animals for no reason. In fact, it’s a very rare occurrence but it does happen when a dog attacks an officer. I have looked at this situation in its entirety and in my opinion, the deputy was protecting himself from a very serious mauling. We’re not ever going to use force on an animal like that unless the dog is attacking us,” he said.

Officers do encounter dangerous dogs while on duty, he noted.

“Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for (officers) to deal with dogs that are willing to bite them, but we would only use force if the dog is attacking us,” he said.

Ervin said she is trying to scrape together the money for Diamond’s surgery, but that it’s hard to watch the dog suffer in the meantime.

“She tried to go out yesterday and she doesn’t understand that her arm isn’t going to work. She fell down the stairs, and I just sat and cried. I hate to see her like that,” she said.

The surgery will cost around $500, Ervin said. She posted some fliers about the incident around the Pioneer Valley entrance and is looking for any assistance she can find for Diamond, she said.

“I’m not asking for money for myself, but any animal lovers who want to help her can donate money at the clinic where she’s going to have the surgery,” she said.

To find out how to help with Diamond’s surgery, call Independence Equine and Small Animal Clinic at 668-8282.

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