One dog is dead, another is to be put down and two families are heartbroken after a chance encounter between the two rescue dogs in Washington Twp.
A dachshund named Cooper was not on a leash Monday evening when its owner let the dog out to relieve itself, according to a Montgomery County Sheriff's incident report.
The dachshund approached a pit bull that was being walked on a leash in the common area behind town homes on Windsor Park Drive.
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The dachshund had moved close to the larger dog when it lunged and grabbed the dachshund by the throat, shook it until it went limp, according to the report.
Cooper's owner, Ashley Kelley, a neighbor and the 16-year-old girl who had been walking the pit bull tried to pull the animals apart. Kelley and the neighbor suffered injuries in the scuffle, according to the report.
Kelley took her dog to an animal hospital, where it died of its injuries.
The pit bull, a 3-year-old named Stormy, was taken into custody by an animal control officer with the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center.
The owners of both dogs were given citations.
"It's heartbreaking that this had to happen to both families...both dogs," Kelley told News Center 7's Sean Cudahy on Tuesday.
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The dachshund had been found abandoned in a hotel and would have been 5 years old soon, Kelley said.
Robin Pack, who was fostering Stormy, said she doesn't think what happened is fair.
The ARC officer cited her for failure to control and for not having a licensed dog. The officer also told her Stormy would be put down, she said.
Pack said Stormy wasn't licensed yet because she hadn't yet adopted the pit bull, which came from a shelter in Cincinnati.
Pack said she isn't sure what she's going to do now, or whether she will foster another pit bull -- or any breed of dog.
"My daughter's heartbroken. I'm heartbroken. I'm heartbroken for the family that lost the other dog," Pack said.
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