LEBANON, Ind. (WTHR) — A dog that attacked and killed a puppy while running loose in a Lebanon neighborhood is now in quarantine.
Boone County Animal Control said they took custody of the dog Monday morning, at the request of the Health Department.
Its owner was cited by police for not having her dogs immunized and not putting them on a leash outside her property.
Meanwhile, the puppy's owner is mourning the loss of his best friend - a death he witnessed right in front of him.
Last Thursday in his own front yard, Glenn Sparks says he felt helpless.
"That was the worst part, was watching it happen," Sparks told Eyewitness News.
He says he watched as his 3-month-old puppy, a chihuahua mud terrier mix named Shorty, got attacked and killed by a loose dog roaming the Hoosier Estates neighborhood in Lebanon.
Sparks had taken Shorty outside on a leash to use the bathroom. They were just a few feet from their front door.
"I saw them two dogs coming down the street and I didn't think nothing of it," Sparks said. "Then they started barking and they ran over and just grabbed my little dog and chewed him to pieces."
Sparks says the dog also dragged him, injuring his hand, as he was clutching Shorty's leash trying to save his puppy.
"Every time he tried to slip out, he'd bite him a little harder, which wouldn't take much to crush him. He's so small," said Sparks.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office says the dogs running loose belonged to a neighbor, 36-year-old Amanda Jordan.
The dogs had no leash and no owner around.
The mixed-breed mastiff that killed Shorty wasn't immunized either.
That's all against Indiana law and ordinances in Lebanon and Boone County.
"It's actually a violation, if a dog leaves its property it must be under restraint by its owner once it crosses the owner's property line," said Deputy Sheriff Hannah Fisher, with Boone County Animal Control.
That's why police gave Jordan three citations: two for allowing her two dogs to roam beyond her property without leashes; one for harboring a non-immunized dog.
Monday morning, Boone County Animal Control removed the dog that attacked Shorty from Jordan's home.
"We are quarantining that dog due to the attack," said Fisher. "It'll be quarantined for a ten day period to monitor it for signs - the big thing we're watching for is signs of rabies."
Fisher says that Jordan doesn't want to pay the fines and requested a court date to fight them and maintain ownership of her dog.
She's got a court date now set for March 29, as long as Jordan continues to pay the bond for Animal Control to care for her dog until then.
"She does not see her dog as a ferocious animal and wants to fight for rights for her dog," said Fisher.
But police say this tragedy shouldn't have happened at all.
It shouldn't happen in any neighborhood, if people follow the law.
"Aggressive or not aggressive, vicious or not vicious, if your dog leaves your property, it has to be on a leash," said Fisher. "We don't want this kind of tragedy again."
Sparks fears if the dog is returned to Jordan, what happened to Shorty could happen again.
"I just think the dog should be put down," said Sparks. "They kill once they'll kill again."
He's mourning the loss of a beloved pet that a simple leash could have prevented.