One of the dogs involved in two recent unprovoked attacks in Sierra Vista was euthanized Wednesday after animal control professionals determined the dog was not adoptable, as it posed a continuing danger to the public.
The decision to put down Loki, an American Staffordshire Terrier, stems from Feb. 28 attack in which officers could not locate the dog, commonly known as a pitbull. However, Loki was relinquished by his owner March 5 shortly after two other pitbulls from the same household severely attacked a man after getting out of their yard.
Loki had remained at the city’s animal care center the last five weeks in hopes an evaluation would show he no longer posed a danger. However, the decision was made this week that euthanasia was necessary, according to public records.
Sean Ryan Hintz, who owned the three dogs, has been ordered to appear at the Sierra Vista Municipal Court on April 28 after being cited for four misdemeanors: failure to contain an aggressive dog, public nuisance, dog at large, and vicious dog. Those charges stem from the March 5 attack.
In that incident, a pitbull named Doll and a young pitbull named Grey were on the run for nearly 40 minutes after leaving a local man with multiple lacerations to both legs and arms. The fingers on the man’s right hand were also badly injured from the nighttime attack.
GRAPHIC VIDEO OF MAN BEING ATTACKED
The dogs ran into a vacant lot when a passerby interceded. Several public safety officers joined in the search, and at one point the dogs became “highly aggressive” and attempted to bite two Sierra Vista police officers.
“Corporal Youman climbed onto the hood of Officer Ramage’s patrol vehicle and deployed his Taser striking the gray dog in the right side of its body,” Officer Joshua Humphrey noted in his report. “After this, the dog fell to the ground, then they both ran away.”
When the dogs headed toward a more populated residential area, the order was given for officers to stay in their vehicles if they located the dogs. Instead, they were authorized to shoot the dogs or run them over, if necessary.
Both dogs were eventually captured after being contained in a fenced yard blocks from where the attack occurred. The investigation led to the removal of Loki from Hintz’s custody as well.
A report by Sierra Vista Animal Control Officer Tammy Gould-Berry notes Hintz, 38, told officers he noticed his dogs were missing March 5 when he returned from work. He said he was out looking for them when he learned of the recent attack, but asserted he knew nothing about a Feb. 28 incident.
Hintz also said he had been planning to turn in the dogs to the shelter the next week, according to the report. All three dogs were placed in quarantine; Doll was euthanized March 16, while Loki and Grey remained under evaluation.
Gould-Berry’s report notes Grey did not suffer any injury from the Taser. She told Arizona Daily Independent that Grey is doing well with his behavior evaluation, which includes socialization with other dogs. A final decision on whether Grey is adoptable has not been made, but Loki’s continued behavior posed too high a risk so euthanasia was ordered, Gould-Berry said.
