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WEBVTT >> SHE COULD HEAR THE MAIL SCREAMING FOR HELP. HANNAH: IT WAS EARLY TUESDAY MORNING WHEN POLICE FIRST GOT THE CALL >> CALLER SAID A PIT BULL ATTACKED A NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET. THE CALLER BELIEVES SHE JUST HEARD A SHOT. HANNAH: A MAN WAS TAKING HIS SMALL DOG FOR A WALK IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. WHEN A PIT BULL APPROACHED AND BEGAN ATTACKING BOTH. >> THE OWNER WAS ABLE TO GET TO A POINT WHERE HE COULD GET INSIDE HIS FENCED YARD AND HE RETRIEVED A HANDGUN FROM HIS THE PEOPLE WAS STILL TRY TO COME HOUSE, AND HE SHOT THE DOG THAT AFTER THE DOG. HOUSE, AND HE SHOT THE DOG THAT ATTACKED HIM. THE PIT BULL DIED AT THE SCENE THE MAN’S SMALL DOG LATER DIED FROM ITS INJURIES. INVESTIGATING THE SHOTS FIRED, BUT SAYS AT THIS TIME, THE SHOOTING SEEMS JUSTIFIED. SGT. PAUL PARIZEK: I THINK ALL OF US WOULD REACT THE SAME WAY , TRYING TO PUT YOURSELF BETWEEN YOUR PET AND DANGER. TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN IS PRETTY DRAMATIC. THAT IS PRETTY TRAUMATIC. >> IT’S A HORRIBLE INCIDENT. I WOULDN’T WISH IT UPON ANYONE. MICK MCAULIFFE IS THE ANIMAL HANNAH:MICK MCAULIFFE IS THE ANIMAL RESCUE LEAGUES ANIMAL SERVICE DIRECTOR. HE SAYS THIS ATTACK HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BREED, AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HOW IT IS >> WE TAKE EACH DOG AS AN INDIVIDUAL, DEAL WITH THE INDIVIDUAL INCIDENT AND THE FACTS OF WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED. HANNAH: HE STRESSES THE IMPORTANCE OF KEEPING YOUR PETS SECURED ON A LEASH, OR A FENCED -IN YARD. >> THE RESPONSIBILITY RE

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Des Moines police say a man who was attacked by a pit bull shot the animal to death.According to police records, the incident happened about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.Police said Mike Hagar was walking his dog in the 1900 block of East 27th Street when the pit bull attacked him and his dog."The owner was able to get to the point where he could get inside his fenced yard, and the pit bull was still trying to come after that dog," Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek said. "He retrieved a handgun from his house and he shot the dog that attacked him."The pit bull died at the scene and Hagar's dog later died of its injuries.Parizek said police are investigating the use of a gun, but the shooting seems justified."I think all of us would react the same way trying to put yourself between your pet and danger, and to have this happen is pretty traumatic," he said."It's a horrible incident," said Mick McAuliffe, animal service director at the Animal Rescue League of Iowa. "I wouldn't wish it upon anyone."McAuliffe said the attack has nothing to do with the breed and everything to do with how it is trained."We take each dog as an individual, deal with the individual incident and the facts of what actually happened," he said.McAuliffe said keeping pets secured on a leash or in a fenced in yard can prevent dog attacks."The responsibility really lies with being a responsible pet owner," he said.Authorities and Animal Rescue League are investigating why the pit bull was not properly secured and if it was properly insured.