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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Off-leash pit bull kills terrier and bites person in North Spokane

Bonnie Rae was on her regular evening walk with her terrier mix, Downey, on the 2500 block of North Morton Street on Sunday when a loose pit bull charged at her.

Within seconds, her small terrier was attacked and killed.

“He was torn apart,” said Rae’s adult daughter, Amy Brown.

Brown said she and her sister, Chloe Senger, each drove to their mother’s house in the Logan Neighborhood as soon as they got her calls about Downey being attacked just after 6 p.m.

An officer from the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, or SCRAPS, was there within 30 minutes.

The women called for police on the advice of the SCRAPS officer, but officers didn’t respond, they said.

Then, at about 7 p.m., the pit bull returned and ran toward the family as they spoke with the SCRAPS officer near their home.

“As soon as it ran over to us, I just ran in the house screaming,” Brown said.

The dog bit Senger before SCRAPS officer John Durbin could corral the dog and get it into his truck.

Brown said the family has not been able to identify the dog’s owner. Durbin told them the pit bull would be quarantined for 10 days before release to an owner.

Calls to the SCRAPS office to request additional information were not returned Monday.

“Nobody has come over here to apologize,” Brown said. “A dog that we loved very much was destroyed.”

Rae adopted her dog about four and a half years ago. She guessed it was about 10 years old.

“Downey was a sweetheart,” she said.