Oregon state trooper shoots pit bull; dog euthanized

Oregon State Police say a trooper shot a pit bull that bit him Saturday near Grants Pass as he was trying to arrest the dog’s owner.

The dog later had to be euthanized.

Lt. Gregg Hastings, an agency spokesman, said state troopers were first called to 5800 block of Fish Hatchery Road on reports that an intoxicated woman was yelling at the home’s residents and their canines.

Witnesses said the suspect threatened to have her own dog attack the other dogs.

When troopers tried to arrest the woman, her dog bit the officer making the arrest, Hastings said.

Senior Trooper Josh Quick then “shot it in self-defense,” according to a statement issued Sunday by the agency.

The dog ran away. Hastings said someone later found the wounded dog and brought it into a veterinary clinic, where it was euthanized because of his injuries. The dog will be tested for rabies.

Quick was treated and released for the lower-leg bite. Hastings said he is not being placed on leave and expects to return to duty soon.

Dawn Hemry-Boyle, 45, was booked into the Josephine County Jail and faces charges of harassment, menacing, criminal trespass and reckless endangerment.