A woman in Wernhout, Brabant shot and killed two "pit bull like" dogs on Sunday after the dogs attacked her husband, the dogs' owner. The woman shot the dogs to free her husband from their jaws, the Volkskrant reports.

The police arrived at the home on Kalmthoutsebaan to find the two dogs dead and their owner wounded, but alive and conscious. According to the owners, the man was letting the dogs out near the house when they started fighting. He tried to intervene and was attacked himself. The woman ran to the house to get the firearm. When she came back, the dogs were still biting her husband so she shot them.

The man was taken to the hospital for treatment. A spokesperson for the West Brabant police told the Volkskrant that he is not in life threatening danger, as far as they know. "But the doctors will have a lot of work to do to get him back into decent shape", the spokesperson said.

As far as the dogs are concerned, the police will take no further action. It is not illegal to keep fighting dogs in the Netherlands. A mayor can order a dangerous dog muzzled, confiscated or put to sleep in the worst case scenario, but as both dogs were killed in the incident, none of those measures have any sense.

The police will investigate whether the couple have the proper permits for the firearm used.