A San Diego police officer fired his weapon at two dogs chasing him in City Heights Monday.
The officer was in the area of Wightman Street around 7:50 a.m. when a neighbor got his attention about the two pit bulls. He knocked on the owner's front door, and when there was no answer he stepped into the unfenced backyard.
The two dogs then began chasing him after the chain holding them in the backyard snapped.
Officials described the dogs as pit bulls and said the officer fired his gun at the dogs.
The dogs’ owner ran outside to get the dogs and take them back into the home.
The dogs did not bite the officer and the bullet did not injure the dogs according to a San Diego police officer on scene.
Once the gun was fired, the dogs did stop chasing the officer the official said.
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Animal control officers on the scene said that the dogs will be euthanized. The dogs did not have any history of biting people before, but they did chase a man riding a bicycle last week.
Animal Services have been to this home five times before this incident, according to officials
The dog owners are extremely upset, according to animal control. They willingly signed the paperwork requesting the dogs be euthanized, according to Animal Control Services Lt. Dan DeSousa.
If the dog owners did not put the dog to sleep, they would have faced five misdemeanor charges.
One of the animal owners blames neighbors for complaining unnecessarily.
"It's unfair, to all dog lovers and dog owners, it's very unfair, so someone needs to do something about this, needs to do something about it, getting calls on dogs that do nothing they get taken away and put to death, unfair, unfair," Lorenzo told NBC 7 San Diego.
It is unknown whether or not the police department will file charges against the owners.
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