FLINT, MI -- Flint police shot three pit bull dogs Sunday, Oct. 20, after two of the dogs attacked a third.

Flint police confirmed they were called to the 3100 block of Greenley Street on the city's south side around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, after two loose pit bulls got into a man's yard and attacked his pit bull.

Police said officers shot the two attacking dogs, and the owner of the third dog asked them to shoot the animal because it was gravely injured during the attack.

Animal Control Committee chairperson and Genesee County Commissioner Pegge Adams, D-Richfield Township, said police shot the dogs and Animal Control got the call to pick up the carcasses on Monday morning. Adams said it's not unusual for police to respond to animal calls on the weekends when Animal Control doesn't have the staff, but the shooting isn't how they would have handled it.

"That's not really the humane ending we try to do," Adams said. "But it is what it is and it wasn't our call."

According to Adams, the dogs would have been tranquilized and if there was a public safety concern, the dogs would have been picked up.

The owner of the dog that was attacked and neighbors in the 3100 block of Greenley Street refused to comment on the incident.

Reporters Chris Aldridge and David Harris contributed to this report.

Amanda Emery is a police reporter for MLive-Flint Journal. Contact her at aemery@mlive.com or 810-285-0792. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.

