Rowan County Sheriff Deputy Billy Basinger shot and killed a dog last week after the dog growled and lunged at Basinger and K-9 Luke, the Sheriff’s Office reported today.
According to the report, the China Grove Police Department asked the Sheriff’s Office to help with a break-in call March 3 around 10:30 p.m. The suspect, a woman, had been seen walking into a wooded area holding a television.
As Basinger, Luke and China Grove Police Officer John Jessup were tracking the woman, they came across another dog, not properly trained, the report said, that was hostile to the officers, growling and showing its teeth.
Authorities said Basinger and Luke tried to walk away from the dog, a Newfoundland mix that was about 100 pounds, but the dog lunged toward Luke. Basinger fired a round of shots into the dog, stopping the threat, the Sheriff’s Office report said.
The incident happened near 713 Harry St. The dog’s owner, Melvin Sherrill, lives at 709 Harry St.
China Grove Police Sgt. James Briggs had asked Sherrill earlier in the day to restrain the dog and keep it inside his property, the report said.
When the officers went to Sherill’s house to tell him what had happened, Sherill’s daughter told authorities that the dog had a problem with German shepherds, and was always trying to start fights with a neighbor’s German shepherd, the report said.
Officers determined that the dog was 62 feet from Sherrill’s property line at the time of the incident. Rowan County Animal Control removed the dead dog.