A Brainerd man shot and killed two pit bull dogs attacking a neighbor's pit bull in an incident on Sunday.
The case was turned over by Chattanooga Police to the McKamey Animal Trust.
McKamey officials have charged the owner of the two dogs, Walter Pitmon, for letting his dogs run at large.
Police Officer Brian Blumenberg said he responded to 108 S. Howell Ave. and spoke with Stephen Hooper, who said two pit bulls attacked his pit bull who was chained in the back yard.
He said while the attack was going on, his neighbor, James Klassen, came out of his house at 106 S. Howell Ave. with his pistol and shot the attacking dogs an unknown amount of times.
Mr. Hooper said after the dogs were shot, they ran off. The dogs were later taken by McKamey officers to an animal clinic on Amnicola Highway. They were later put down.
Officer Blumenberg said Mr. Pitmon arrived at the scene and identified himself as the owner of the two dogs. He said he was trying to feed the dogs at his residence at 113 Spring Creek Road when they got out. He said that was about an hour before the attack.
He said he went looking for them, then saw a number of officers at the house on South Howell and suspected that it involved the two dogs.
A neighbor, Matthew Overby, said he was playing with his four-year-old cousin less than 100 feet from where he heard six or seven shots.
He said he put the cousin inside and went looking in his truck to find who was firing shots in the neighborhood.
He said he found a pit bull with a bullet wound that severed its spine. He said he then saw the second dog that had also been shot.
Mr. Overby said he waited on Conner Street "with several more Good Samaritans who had stopped to help these two dying, bleeding dogs."
He said the owner eventually showed up "and was initially upset with them for getting out in the first place. His anger quickly turned to tears as he just held his dogs."