By Gary Lloyd
A “very expensive,” small bird dog was killed by an American Bull Terrier in Clay on Tuesday, according to Clay City Manager Ronnie Dixon.
The incident happened on Self Road, Dixon said.
The incident is under investigation with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Deputy Randy Christian said deputies were called to a home in the 6900 block of Self Road just after 10 a.m. Tuesday to investigate an animal complaint.
Christian said the resident told deputies that his dog had been tied to a run in his yard. A dog from another home on a nearby street was roaming free and attacked his dog, Christian said. The dog died as a result of the attack.
Christian described the roaming dog as a medium-sized “mixed breed.” The dog was found and the owner was identified, he said.
Christian said that should the owner of the dog that was attacked decide to press charges, the charge would be allowing a dog to run at large.
According to a June vicious dog ordinance approved by the Clay City Council, existing pit bull dogs, or any of their variations, must be registered with the city of Clay, no new pits may be brought into the city, and any newborn pit puppies will need to be removed from the city limits within a certain amount of time.
Dixon said the vicious dog ordinance in Clay is “on the books and will be enforced.”
Dixon said in late July that 15 to 18 pit bulls had been registered with the city since the ordinance took effect in June. He said that also since that time, two dogs in the city had been killed by pit bulls and three more injured by pit bulls. He said in one of those five cases, a dog climbed over a fence, and in another a dog was unleashed. He didn’t know the particulars of the other three instances.
Read more about the dog ordinance here.
Updated at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday to add information from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office’s report.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.