Killing two pit bull dogs in Cutler was justified

Regardless of a letter published last Friday in the Du Quoin Evening Call by the owner of two pit bull dogs in Cutler, shooting the dogs was justified according to a Perry County Sheriff's Department spokesman.

Career officer and investigator Tim Russell said Perry County animal control officer Danny Queen is a dog lover and would not have shot the animals had it not been warranted.

On Thursday, March 21 Queen was forced to take aim at the dogs in a field behind the Rednour housing complex in Cutler after the dogs mauled two calves on property just outside of Cutler.

Russell said photographs of the attack on the two calves are two grotesque to publish. The dogs chewed the ears from one newborn calf and the attack on the other was so violent Russell believes the owner had to put the animals down.

Dog owner Katie Zanders alleged in a letter last week that shooting her dogs--Rampage and Ruckus--was not warranted.

She said the dogs escaped from her backyard in the afternoon while family members were at work and school.

Queen and the sheriff's department received a complaint about the dogs mauling calfs just outside of Cutler. Queen and a sheriff's deputy verified the attack and Queen began looking for the dogs, said Russell. He was assisted by a sheriff's deputy.

Russell explained what happened: "The dogs killed one calf and mutilated another one. Danny started looking for the dogs and parked near a field. He found the dogs. They had blood all over them."

"They (the dogs) had just found out they could kill a big animal," Russell continued. He said it was obvious the dogs were ready to challenge Queen. "They were running towards him."

Queen found protection in his vehicle and shot the dogs from there.

Russell said the dogs were shot in the field. There were no school children around. "A deputy's car is a crowd magnet," he said and the scene attracted a few people as the incident wore on.

"These calves were so mutilated they couldn't even stand," said Russell. "Their ears were even torn off."

He said photos of the calves clearly show how violent the attack was.