Loose Dog in Lakeside Gets Shot by Deputy

On September 20 at 7:40 a.m., a Lakeside dog was shot and wounded when he growled and charged at a sheriff’s deputy who was responding to a hazard complaint.

According to Sgt. Brent Strahm with the County of San Diego Sheriff‘s Department, the dog was a Labrador Retriever/Rottweiler mix, estimated to weigh about 100 pounds. The officer encountered the dog in a neighbor’s driveway. The house was located across the street from Lakeview Elementary School, and class was set to be in session in about an hour.

Earlier that morning, the dog allegedly charged at a 78-year-old woman at a full sprint, and the owner wasn’t home at the time. Strahm said that the dog had been reported as being aggressive two times in the past.

In a phone conversation with Dan DeSousa of the Department of Animal Services, animal control officers found the wounded dog in a storm drain. They secured both ends of the culvert, and one officer then crawled in to get him. The dog is currently receiving treatment at a veterinary hospital.

DeSousa said the owners have been in contact with the department and are going to pay all veterinary bills. After treatment, the dog will be returned to them. It is unknown how the dog got out, and no charges will be filed.

“Every case is looked at individually, before criminal action is taken,” said DeSousa. “There are a lot of different reasons why dogs act aggressively. We [the staff at the department] ask, ‘Why did it happen?’ and act accordingly.”