Dog fight turns deadly in Fort Lauderdale after owner opens fire, killing 2 animals, police say

A shooting sparked by a dog fight involving at least five animals left two dogs dead and two others injured in Fort Lauderdale on Friday morning, according to police.

Fort Lauderdale Police said officers responded around 9:30 a.m. to reports of gunfire in the 1100 block of Northwest 7th Street, where they discovered a chaotic scene involving several dogs. 

Investigators said at least five dogs were engaged in a fight when a man, identified as the owner of at least one of the animals, pulled out a gun and opened fire.

"They came over, attacked my dog, and, you know, I had to defend it. It was like four dogs," said the dog's owner, who does not want to be identified.

He tells us his dog, Sky, was attacked by the neighbor's four dogs — described by police as pit bull and mastiff mixes. Those dogs were not on a leash, investigators say.

"I heard like five gunshots," a neighbor recalled.

This all happened around 9:30 a.m. on Northwest Seventh Street and 11th Avenue. The owner of the dog that was attacked said he was trying to protect his dog when he was forced to pull his gun from his waistband.

"That's when one dog, you know, fighting my dog and other dog. And all of a sudden, that's when the other two came. So I had to take the firearm out and shoot a dog, but they had my dog on the ground and everything. Basically, like fighting, had to protect it," he said.

In all, two dogs were killed and two injured — including Sky. She will undergo surgery for some serious injuries.

"Amputate her tail, They gotta treat her leg. She got, her face. She got bite mark on her face," he said.

Police say it appears this shooting was justified.

"We are not looking into any criminal charges on the shooter. It appears as though, based on the circumstances, that he was acting in self defense of him and his dog once the aggressive dogs approached him," said Fort Lauderdale Police Spokesperson Casey Liening.

Investigators are deciding whether the man with the four dogs will face any charges.

"The owner of the dogs who were not on the leash could face fines and or arrest for not having his dogs on a leash for, you know, vicious breeds, things like that," Liening said.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue treated the person at the scene, and he later chose to go to the veterinary hospital with his two dogs.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department's Animal Crimes Unit is now investigating what led up to the shooting.