SC: Neighbors Outraged After Pit Bull Is Shot And Killed By Deputy

Neighbors Outraged After Pit Bull Is Shot And Killed By Deputy
Posted: Dec 18, 2013 5:21 PM EST Updated: Dec 18, 2013 6:21 PM EST
By Dee Griffin, WJBF Reporter

Graniteville, SC -Pit bull mixed Mya spent her days and night tethered in her owner's backyard. On Monday, Mya broke free, which is something her owner says she had done before. But this time, she's not coming back...

"She was right here barking. Right here," says Lalonda Allen, Mya's owner.

Minutes later, Mya was steps away lying in blood.

According to the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, someone flagged down a passing deputy saying that Mya was trying to attack. The deputy called Aiken County Animal Control and that's when Allen first noticed something was wrong. She says the deputy instructed her to go inside the house.

Allen explains, "I went on back in the house. I thought may be they were going to tranquilize her or put her on the truck. You know, take her away. But, the next thing I know I heard a gun shot."

A neighbor captured a picture of Mya laying on the street after being shot.

The shooting and death have rattled this normally quiet community. Neighbor Maleah Busbee says, "she wasn't my dog, but she was my heart."

Busbee says Mya would break free occasionally, but, she insists Mya was harmless. "If the had a stick or a rake or anything to provoke her that she was scared of then she would bark at them. But, I have not known her to attack anybody," Busbee adds.

Aiken County Sheriff's Office spokesman Captain Eric Abdullah says,"If the animal is being overly aggressive, or if citizens are in danger as the result of a vicious animal, then we will take the steps that we have to in order to protect the public."

As the Sheriff's Office moves forward looking into exactly what happened, people who loved Mya continue looking back on her life and what she meant to them.

"She wouldn't hurt no one. She's playful. That's all she did was play," reflects Allen.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office stands by the deputy and says he followed procedure. But, the department is still investigating the case which is normal in any officer involved shooting.

Neighbors Outraged After Pit Bull Is Shot And Killed By Deputy - WJBF-TV ABC 6 Augusta-Aiken News, Weather, Sports