A dog was killed Monday night in Val Verde following a dog attack that’s now a part of a felony investigation, according to county officials.
County Animal Care and Control officers and Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies responded to a report of a “vicious dog,” according to Shirley Miller, spokeswoman for the station. Responding deputies found a man who had sustained serious injuries that appeared to be from a dog attack, which had been reported in the 29700 block of Cromwell Avenue.
An Animal Care official described the initial call as “a dog running at large and biting a man in the hand,” in an emailed statement Tuesday from Paul Maradiaga, animal control manager.
“Our (animal care officer) responded and, upon arrival, sheriff deputies were already at the location. LASD reported that the dog attacked a male subject (on the hand), and during the incident, a deputy discharged his firearm multiple times, wounding the dog in question,” according to the email. “It is unclear whether the deputy discharged his weapon to protect the victim from further injury or in self-defense.”
Footage of the shooting shared with The Signal does not indicate the nature of the confrontation between the armed deputy and the dog, only that several shots were fired.
The wounded dog returned to its property, according to animal care officials, who said the responding care officer also went back to the property and found “two additional dogs on the premises that displayed aggressive behavior toward him.”
Animal care officials indicated that, “Due to the severity of the incident, prior reported calls against the address, inadequate containment, the aggressive behavior of the dogs and the inability to contact the owner, a decision was made to remove all three dogs from the property for public safety reasons.”
The dog that was wounded in the shooting was taken to the Palmdale Animal Care Center for treatment, according to Maradiaga, where a decision was made to euthanize the animal due to the severity of its injuries.
A woman who answered the door at the home on Cromwell where the incident was reported said Tuesday that her dog was shot and killed the previous night but she did not want to discuss the incident.
Several neighbors recalled hearing the commotion and seeing law enforcement officials Monday night, but no one wanted to speak on the record. There were also few details available; however, one resident confirmed Animal Care’s message that Monday’s incident was not the first complaint against the residence.
“Currently, the Castaic ACC management team is in communication with the dogs’ owner,” according to Maradiaga’s email. “A property inspection was done early today, and we found there are two other dogs on the property. We plan to stay in touch with the owner regarding the inadequate containment.”
Miller wrote in a text message that the investigation listed on the initial criminal report filed Tuesday indicated that a possible felony charge — failing to control a dangerous animal — was part of what detectives were evaluating. The station’s Detectives Bureau is looking into the incident.
There was no arrest information from the incident immediately available Tuesday, according to a station official.
