Two dogs killed during fight with Henry County Sheriff’s K-9
Two pomeranian dogs, including a 7-month-old puppy died last week from injuries they suffered during a fight with an escaped Henry County Sheriff’s K-9.
Henry County Sheriff William Maddox said the fight happened Wednesday after the K-9, a Belgian Malinois, escaped the 4-foot tall chain-link fence that surrounded the back yard of its handler’s home in Abbeville. Maddox said the handler, Ted Yost, was not home at the time of the fight, but Maddox responded to the reported attack.
Maddox said the two dogs, a puppy and 5-year-old male pomeranian belonged to Sherry and Steve Owens, who live at a nearby residence.
“He’s not an aggressive dog, he’s just a passive drug dog,” Maddox said. “He was just protecting his territory. I felt bad about it and I offered to pay them for the dogs.”
Deputy Yost apparently had recently moved into the home, located near Dothan Road and Mar-Car Drive in Abbeville, and not yet erected the dog kennel, Maddox said Friday. Maddox said it’s unclear how the sheriff’s K-9 escaped the fenced in yard.
Maddox said the K-9 has been placed in the dog kennel at his handler’s home.
“I don’t know who attacked who, because I wasn’t there,” Maddox said. “It was a dog fight; any dog is going to fight when they run up on each other.”
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Reader Reactions
Concerned parent is not too concerned, what if it was their child that let the dog out of the fence and it attacked the child.
The Sherrif is right, the dog was doing what dogs do, so evidently the deputy is to blame. This Belgian dog weighs anywhere from 60 to 75 pounds full grown, a Pomeranian full grown weighs up to 7 lbs, and I don’t even know about a little 7 month old puppy. I wonder if it was the puppy that attacked this big dog and started the fight.
What is Deputy Yost qualifications to handle this dog? If you read on the internet about them, they need an experienced handler.
I feel so sorry for the Owens, a pet is like a family member, you can’t just pay for another one.
Who is going to be held responsible? The dog for jumping the fence or the handler for not having enough sense to realize this dog could get out of this fence at will.
This dog is worth thousands of dollars trained as a police dog, so why wasn’t he secured better? If the Owens little dog had managed to hurt this big dog, what would have happened to the Owens?
The sherriff said he doesn’t know who attacked who. A Pomeranian weighs 3 to 6 pounds. A Belgian Malinois weighs from 50 pounds to 75 pounds. A Beglgian Malinois takes an experienced handler, what experience does this deputy have as a K9 handler. Evidently not much to leave him in a 4 ft. high fence. The deputy and the sheriff’s department should be liable for killing the Owens pets. It’s obivous the dog jumped the fence (He’s over 2 feet tall, the fence was 4 ft. tall. My medium sized dog can jump a 4 ft. fence. Who would walk up and let this huge dog out?
Surely someone in the department knows that a 3 to 4 foot fence is a joke for a Belgian Malinois.
The deputy made a mistake not properly restraining the dog, if the dog had killed a person someone would have been charged with manslaughter.
Who is to say that someone didn’t LET THE DOG OUT of the fenced in back yard? You can’t hold the deputy responsible for something someone else might have done. Those barking yapping little dogs probably kept on and on - we all know how aggrevating those yapping little dogs can be. Unless you were there to witness the whole thing you don’t know either!!!
I like how Sheriff Maddox said the dog was “just protecting his territory” even though the dog wasn’t in his yard. If this was a bully breed or some other “problem” breed it would have been considered a menace to the neighborhood and put down—end of story.
I realize this dog is considered an officer and probably cost thousands to train so the rules change. You just have to love the double standard. The bottom line is, the kennel should have been erected before the dog was ever allowed to be outside alone.
Why is this dog not in quarantine at a vets office? If my dog had done this it sure would be. The sheriff says “He’s not an aggressive dog”, really? Ask the Owens they think hes aggressive.
NOW THE DEPUTY SHERIFF SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY. HE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOG
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