YARMOUTH, MASS. (WHDH) - A Massachusetts man shot and killed a pitbull on Sunday after police say the dog attacked and repeatedly bit him when he tried to move the animal off a bed.

Officers responding to a 911 call at a home on Woodbine Avenue in West Yarmouth around 6 p.m. found a 25-year-old man with severe wounds to his left arm and a dead pit bull terrier, according to the Yarmouth Police Department.

The man told police he was in bed with his girlfriend and went to move the dog but it started biting him, prompting him to grab a handgun off the nightstand and shoot it dead.

The man was treated at the scene and taken to Cape Cod Hospital with serious injuries.

Police later seized the handgun, along with a shotgun and ammunition. The deceased dog was removed by Yarmouth Animal Control officials.

The man, whose name was not released, is fully licensed to have firearms in Massachusetts, police said.

No charges have been filed.

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