June 2, 2014
Plymouth Police officer Bob DeLee shot a dog three times on Friday afternoon after the animal charged at him twice.
About 12:55 Friday afternoon the Plymouth Police Department got a call in reference to a loose dog in the 600 block of Randolph Street.
Officer DeLee spoke with the complainant who said he had to use his lawnmower to keep the dog away from him.
The dog, a pit-bull was located and returned home but while waiting for either the resident to return or for the Human Society to respond the dog became aggressive and started growling and showing its teeth and did charge at the officer. Officer DeLee shot the dog twice and it retreated but after a brief pause, it charged at the officer a second time and that resulted in a third shot.
Officer DeLee followed the dog around the house to maintain the safety of all who were arriving on the scene.
A representative from the Humane Society assisted in loading the dog into a vehicle to be transported to the vet for treatment.
The male pit-bull, Max was seriously injured in the incident. His owner, Tiffany Hopkins claims he is not vicious and that the officer over reacted.
Max was shot in the jaw and twice in the shoulder area. He was taken to Seven Oaks Veterinary Clinic on Friday and treated but had to be sent home because the family did not have the funds to pay for a needed surgery.
This is not the first time this dog has been on the loose. He was picked up by the Marshall County Humane Society on May 24th and released on the 28th, a day before the incident. The Humane society said they had received several calls the week prior to picking him up about the dog running at large. They also commented that he was not aggressive towards them but they did notice that he didn’t seem to like men.
When the pit bull was released to his owner they were warned about placing the dog back in the same situation where it was allowed to get lose from. The Humana Society warned the owners of their responsibility to keep the dog confined to the yard and not doing so could result in bigger issues.
A trip back to the vet on Monday determined the surgery needed and the family needs to raise $500 to put down on the surgery and they are accepting donation. So far $225 has been raised but they need more. You can donate on line at http://www.gofundme.com/9q4hik?pc=fb_dp&r=33821