PORT TOWNSEND – The owner of two pit bulls was cited Tuesday after the dogs attacked a neighbor’s goats, said Jefferson County Undersheriff Tim Perry.
The goats were injured but survived, Perry said.
“Two pit bulls came charging into the field and attacked two goats and tore them up pretty good,” he said.
“If the dogs had killed the goats they’d be classified as vicious and we would have picked them up.”
The owner of the goats, Scott Piper, came out of his home at 1473 Discovery Road and chased the dogs from the goats at about 5:45 a.m. Tuesday.
The owner of the two pit bulls, Ray Anibas, a resident of 1530 S. Discovery Road, was cited with having animals at large and injuring property, both misdemeanors, said Perry.
Anibas told Animal Services deputies that he regularly let the dogs run loose.
The deputies told him he must keep them tethered from now on.
Perry said that, because the pit bulls were on Piper’s property and threatening his livestock, that he had the right to shoot the dogs.
This is the fourth pit bull attack in Jefferson County this year.
In February, a pit bull that broke its collar clip and escaped from its back yard on F Street in Port Townsend bit a schnauzer, which required $2,000 worth of surgery.
The owner of the F Street pit bull was issued a citation.
In March, a pit bull escaped from a truck that was parked at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Port Townsend and headed for a pack of five deer, tearing the ear from one of the deer.
The dog’s owner was not cited but instead was given a warning.
And in May, two pit bulls were euthanized after attacking two Pomeranian dogs in Quilcene.
The two small dogs required veterinary care.
