Owner Wants Answers After Loudoun Deputy Shoots Dog

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.

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.