Police Kill Pit Bulls That Attacked Kennel Mates

Police officers shot and killed two pit bulls after the dogs mauled their kennel mates for about an hour in a Port Hueneme backyard, authorities said Tuesday.

Officers shot one of the attacking dogs, named Honey, at about 6:45 p.m. Monday in the backyard of a ranch-style home at 1795 5th Place. Another dog, Asia, was shot by officers in the driveway of a neighboring home after leaping two fences and running loose in the street.

The dogs’ owner, Rudy Corona, 32, who was at work in Woodland Hills at the time, said Honey had given birth to four puppies just months earlier. The puppies cowered in the corner of the yard as Honey repeatedly bit Legs, the puppies’ father, who was chained in a pen.

Corona, who has bred and sold pit bulls for four years, said he believes the incident occurred when Asia dug out of her chain-link pen--the first in a line of three adjacent cages--and attacked one of the other dogs, CJ, biting the dog’s muzzle through the fence.

Corona said this attack probably incited Honey, who was not confined to a cage. She somehow got into Legs’ pen and attacked the dog, who was tethered by a 2-foot chain. Neighbors called police after witnessing that attack, officers said.

“She was ripping the flesh off the other dog. I have never seen anything like it,” said neighbor Joan Quammen, who added that she was relieved that her grandchildren were not there to see the brutal fight. “There was blood everywhere.”

Tuesday afternoon, a large, circular pool of dried blood remained on tidy backyard grass where Honey staggered and fell after Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Ron Burns shot the 2-year-old canine with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Burns shot the dog after neighbors and other officers made a vain 45-minute effort to stop her from attacking Legs.

“The neighbors sprayed the dogs with water, and then we sprayed with pepper spray and hit the dog with a baton for a long time and nothing was working, so Sgt. Burns shot the one dog to save the other,” said Officer Mike Federico.

Upon hearing the shotgun blast, Asia leaped a 5-foot fence, running out onto 5th Place, where neighbors had gathered after hearing the gunfire.

When Asia started to run toward a group assembled on the porch at a nearby house, Federico yelled at onlookers to go inside. With the spectators safely inside, the dog began to walk along the driveway and back toward Federico. When she got to within seven yards, Federico shot the dog dead.

“There were too many people on the street, and I didn’t want them to get hurt,” the officer said. The dog had already exhibited dangerously aggressive behavior, so Federico said he did not want to take any chances.

Although he believes he did the right thing, Federico said he feels conflicted about killing the dog.

“I had a pit bull exactly like that when I was a kid--I feel real bad about it,” he admitted.

Officers said there was no clear explanation for the attack. Neighbors did not witness the start of the incident. Police say Corona was not raising the dogs to fight, and neighbors said nothing like this had happened before.

Corona was most saddened by the loss of Honey, whom he had owned for three years. He estimated the dogs’ value at about $1,000 each. He does not know what the future holds for Legs, the male dog he uses for breeding.

Ventura County animal control was scheduled to release Legs and the four unscathed puppies to Corona at 3 p.m. Tuesday. While Legs had multiple bite wounds, animal control officials thought he would survive.

“I’m pretty sure he’ll be OK. The only thing that might get him would be the infection from the bites,” said Craig Koerner, county veterinarian.