A New Albany, Indiana man shot and killed one of two dogs that unexpectedly attacked his dog and tried to force its way into his home on Monday.
The owner of the dog that was killed says he understands and most likely would have done the same thing himself.
Albert Cross admits that his two pit bull mix dogs, Sampson and Daniel, managed to crawl under a fence and attack Carolyn Sevedge’s 9-year-old Irish Setter, Mufasa, who was in the back yard next door.
Cross says he first knew there was a problem when he checked on his dogs and they weren’t in the yard.
“About that time I heard my neighbor scream, and I noticed that my dogs had made it through the fence and were attacking her dog. I was surprised because the dogs really don’t have a history of aggression towards other dogs,” Cross said.
Sevedge, who did not want to appear on camera, says she was terrified.
“I’m screaming, like thinking maybe they’ll let loose, but they didn’t,” Sevedge said. “And they were just after both of his ears and just treating him like a rag doll.”
Cross said he jumped over the fence and got the dogs to stop attacking. “I told them to cut it out, which then they stopped.”
Sevedge says she retreated into her home, but Sampson and Daniel weren’t finished.
“I went into the house,” Sevedge said. “The back door was open and they all ran into the house.”
Fortunately, Mufasa did not suffer further injury.
“They made it all the way to her front door where her dog was, but they never attacked the dog a second time,” Cross said. “They were just kind of in there like, ‘what’s going on?’ a kind of natural chasing thing.”
Cross and Sevedge were able to force the attacking dogs out of the house, but one, Daniel, kept trying to back in.
That’s when police say Carolyn’s husband, who was in the shower, heard her screaming.
He grabbed his handgun and fired at the dogs.
One bullet struck Daniel, killing him.
“It’s a split second decision,” Cross said. “I told him, under the same circumstances – and I was there, I witnessed it, I was 10 yards away maybe. And I told him, that I would expect him to do the exact same thing if it happened again.”
Mufasa received multiple stitches for his injuries.
Cross has agreed to pay the vet bill and to give Sampson to a new home.
Cross said his children were upset about Daniel’s death.
“My boys took it really hard,” Cross said. “But I explained to them, in the situation … the neighbor did what he had to do.”
Cross says he had already planned to give the dogs away before Monday’s incident because he felt they needed more room to play. He says the whole incident is shocking because the dogs co-existed for months peacefully.
New Albany Animal Control is investigating this incident.