Dog Fight Leads To Shots Fired, Pit Bull Killed

On Thursday, for the second consecutive day in Colorado Springs, a pit bull was the target of a homeowner’s gunfire.

Police said Bud Linton told them he was forced to shoot two dogs, a pit bull and a boxer, that climbed his backyard fence and attacked his German shepherd, Max.

“It shook me up because I’m a dog lover,” said Linton. “It was a beautiful tan pit bull with a white mask. It shook me up pretty good.”

The incident happened just after 4 p.m. on Portrait Place, which is on the city’s northeast side.

Linton said he and his wife, Julie, were preparing dinner when they heard what sounded like a dog fight in the backyard. Bud Linton said he saw Max being attacked by the strange dogs, and struggled to get Max away from them.

Despite the threat of being bitten himself, Linton said he successfully brought Max indoors. He said one of the dogs scratched him on the hand, but Max appeared uninjured.

The ordeal was just beginning, however. Linton said the two dogs jumped the fence again and ran to the front of the house where a woman was walking her two basset hounds.

“And my wife hollered (at her) to watch out,” Linton said. “As soon as she said that, they attacked her. They were all over (her dogs). My wife was on the phone with 911 at the time.”

“They were crazy, out of control,” Julie Linton said about the two threatening dogs. “(One of them) was literally foaming at the mouth, banging at my door. I feel that if my husband had not come out, they would have killed that woman. They were vicious.”

Bud Linton said the basset hounds’ owner ran away, and that one of her dogs was injured in the attack. That’s when he said he brought out his pistol.

“One of them lunged at me,” Linton said. “I shot him. He lunged at me again. I shot him twice. The boxer…I smacked it in the head with my pistol but it wouldn’t let go of her dogs. I shot it also. Then it came at me. When I shot it, it tried to bite my pistol. I shot it again.”

Linton said the pit bull ran a short distance and fell dead in a neighbor’s yard. Police said the boxer was found unharmed later on Thursday.

“I’m not saying all pit bulls are bad,” Linton said. “But I know how (they) are. I wouldn’t have grabbed the gun if it would have been any other dog.”

It’s unclear who owns the threatening dogs and where they came from. The Lintons and several neighbors said they haven’t seen the dogs before, but regularly saw the woman walking her basset hounds.

Police said they won’t file charges against Linton because he legally owns his gun and was justified in using it.

The Pikes Peak Humane Society is investigating the incident.

On Wednesday, another man said was forced to shoot and kill a pit bull that made him feel threatened while going out to get groceries.

The Thursday shooting intensified a community debate about whether pit bulls have an unfair perception and are portrayed in a negative light, and about whether the gun owners involved have shown a lack of restraint in killing the dogs.