Greenwich Police Officer Tackles Pitbull, Saves Small Dog

GREENWICH, CT — A quick-thinking veteran Greenwich police officer risked his own safety on July 3 when he tackled a 70-pound pitbull to help save a small cavalier king charles spaniel that the larger dog was mauling.

Officer Justin Quagliani was on patrol when he was called to the Weaver Street area on a report of a roaming pitbull. He found the dog and the elderly female owner, but while he was interviewing her, her dog got out, ran down the street and attacked the spaniel, which is owned by a Greenwich man.

"The pitbull was just rag-dolling the little dog," said Quagliani during an interview at police headquarters Monday, July 10, describing how the pitbull had "Buster," the spaniel, in its mouth shaking it back and forth. "I ran over and kneed the pitbull in ribs and placed it in a choke hold and got gnarled a bit on the wrist."

While wrestling with the dog, Quagliani asked a passerby to help him by getting his squad car keys out of his pocket in order to open the trunk to get out an animal snare that officers carry in their vehicles.

Once the woman got the snare, Quagliani let go of the dog and they placed it in the snare for transport to the department's animal control division.

The pitbull was uninjured in the incident, but has been temporarily quarantined.

Its owner was cited for allowing a roaming dog and not being up to date on vaccine information.

Photo credit: Barbara Heins