Man stabs pit bull to death after attack on his dog

David Kihara and Jeff Donaldson

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 11:15 a.m.

A man stabbed a pit bull to death on Monday at Sunset Park after the dog attacked his smaller dog, Clark County Park Police said on Tuesday.

Dillon Smith of Las Vegas used a four-inch knife to stab the pit bull, which weighed more than 50 pounds, after it attacked Smith's dog, a smaller pit bull mix, which was estimated to weigh about 30 pounds, said Park Police Sgt. Rick Binyons.

"There's a lot of dog lovers out there, and no one wants to see a situation like this where someone stabs a dog and then the dog dies," he said, adding, "this is the first incident that I've ever come across" in which someone had killed a dog in defense of another animal.

The smaller dog sustained minor injuries to the neck and head and was taken to a local veterinarian by the owner, officials said.

The incident took place at the Sunset Park dog run, an enclosed area where larger dogs are separated from smaller dogs. The smaller dog reportedly attempted to copulate with the larger pit bull, inciting the attack, Binyons said.

The larger dog bit into the smaller dog and took hold of the smaller dog's neck, he said. The owner of the smaller dog, upon seeing the incident, pulled out the knife and stabbed the larger dog, killing it.

Smith was cited by park police for possession of the knife, and the case will be turned over to the district attorney to decide whether to file any other charges, Binyons said.

Nevada law states that "a person shall not: (a) Overdrive, overload, torture, cruelly beat or unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill an animal, whether belonging to himself or to another."

Violators of the law can face a misdeameanor, gross misdemeanor or felony charge, depending on the circumstances, officials said. The district attorney's office takes into account various factors when deciding whether to file a charge. A man who kills an animal in defense of his own animal is certainly different than someone who poisons a neighbor's dog because the dog is barking too loudly, for example, officials said.

Binyons said it is mainly up to dog owners to ensure that their dogs are under control.

Park Police refused to release their report on the incident Tuesday. They said Park Police Chief Richard Bishop will release the incident report on Friday, but Binyons said police would wait to release the name of the owner of the pit bull that died.

"Really, both parties are the losers in this," Binyons said. "One person's dog sustained injuries and he was cited. Another person's dog died. It's just a tragedy."

Capt. David March, of Clark County Animal Control, said his department responded to provide support to Park Police.

"We removed the pit bull and placed it on a hold in case the owners wanted to claim it for burial," March said.