WEST YARMOUTH — Yarmouth police and fire officials responded to a call Sunday reporting that a man had been bitten by his dog, and that he shot and killed the animal at a West Yarmouth home, according to a statement from the Yarmouth Police Department.

Emergency personnel responded to the call at 6:08 p.m. on Woodbine Avenue, finding a 25-year-old man with severe injuries to his left arm and a dead pit bull terrier, the statement says.

The man and his girlfriend had recently moved into the home and were fostering the animal, named Max, according to the statement. The pit bull supposedly attacked the man after he tried moving it as the couple were lying in bed. The man unsuccessfully tried to get the dog to stop, and the man then reached for a 9 mm handgun near his nightstand and fired a single shot, which killed the dog, the statement says.

The man is fully licensed to have firearms in Massachusetts. The handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun and related ammunition were taken from the home for safekeeping at Yarmouth Police Department Headquarters, according to the statement, and Yarmouth animal control officers removed the deceased dog.

Yarmouth police detectives with support from the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Unit have opened an investigation into the incident.