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Owner Wants Answers After Loudoun Deputy Shoots Dog

The sheriff's office defended the shooting, saying the dog aggressively charged a deputy from behind.

The sheriff's office defended the shooting, saying the dog aggressively charged a deputy from behind. ( Liam Griffin/Patch )

LOUDOUN, VA — A South Riding woman wants answers after a Loudoun County Sheriff's Office deputy shot her dog, which later died. The sheriff's office is defending the deputy's actions, Loudoun Now reports.

Deputies responded Oct. 30 to a report of an aggressive dog, according to a sheriff's office spokesperson. At the time, the spokesperson said the dog had been located and taken into custody, without mentioning the shooting or its condition.

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The dog's owner, Kelly Graves, told Loudoun Now that a deputy shot her dog and that she had not been told why. A county spokesperson confirmed the dog arrived with gunshot wounds and died in the county's care.

Graves acknowledged that the dog had escaped its enclosure.

A sheriff's office spokesperson now says callers reported that the dog had bitten someone and that it "aggressively charged [the deputy] from behind."

However, Graves said police told her no dog bite victim had been found.

Read more at Loudoun Now, including its previous reporting on the incident.

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