Man Defends Dog With Gun; Shot, Killed Bullmastiff

A man walking his dog Wednesday on El Camino Avenue in Colorado Springs told police his greyhound dog was attacked by a bullmastiff. The bullmastiff, Flato, was on a leash but broke away from its owner.

The owner of the greyhound was armed and was in possession of his concealed weapons permit. He shot the bullmastiff two times, police said. The bullmastiff died shortly after, according to its owner.

The bullmastiff’s owner, Tammira Martinez, told KRDO she thinks the greyhound’s owner did not give her a chance to regain control of Flato before using his gun.

Police said no neighbors were ever in danger because of the way the shots were fired at the dog. Police also said their investigation revealed no illegal activity was conducted and therefore made no arrests.

The Humane Society was called out to conduct an investigation.

Police said as of right now, the man isn’t facing any charges and Martinez told KRDO Newschannel 13 she does not plan to pursue any legal action because lawyers “can’t bring my dog back.”

Thursday afternoon, Martinez was served with a court summons on charges of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog. Joe Stafford, director of animal services at the Humane Society, says they are still investigating the case, but are not ruling out charges of animal cruelty for the greyhound’s owner.