Dog Shot In Attack Put Down: Boston Animal Control

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — The dog, described as possibly a 2-year-old Pit Bull "type," shot Wednesday by police after it attacked a woman was put down, according to Boston's Animal Control.

Amanda Kennedy, director of Boston's Animal Care and Control unit got the call Wednesday evening that police needed help with a dog that had attacked someone and police had had to shoot.

An Inspectional Service Animal Control and Care officer took the dog and rushed it to Angell Memorial medical center for animals and Kennedy contacted the dog's owner to get permission to treat the dog at the hospital.

"She was not able to afford the care that the dog would have needed, it definitely would have been expensive," said Kennedy. So she offered the owner the option of surrendering the dog to the organization for the purpose of humane euthanasia.

• Boston Police Shoot Dog After It Attacks Woman

Kennedy said there are two reasons Animal control does that, one to protect public safety and two so that the animal does not suffer.

Veterinarians at Angell told her the dog was "shocking" and they were having difficulty controlling the bleeding. At that point she said, it was in pretty severe condition.

The owner authorized the humane euthanasia of the dog and the dog is now dead, she said.

Because the dog had attacked someone, she's required by law to test the dog for rabies, although she said that was highly unlikely. The Animal care and control division has the body and will hold on to it until the police are done with the investigation.

Kennedy said the number of attacks each month that get reported varies month to month. She said her unit's computer system was down and so she did not have exact numbers at the moment, but noted that all animals can bite.

She said she also did not immediately know if this dog had a history of aggression.

"It’s important that the public not become afraid or alarmed by these sorts of situations. Animals can be unpredictable, and any dog can bite; And a number of things can contribute to that," she said.

She reminded folks that Boston has a leash law and owners should be in control of their dogs at all times, and holding onto the leash to that end.

"Most of these attacks occur when the dog is not on leash," she said. In this case it appeared the woman was not in control of her dog, she said. "If you see a dog that’s off leash call 311 so our division can investigate," she said.

Previously: Boston Police Shoot Dog After It Attacks Woman

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