Pictured is a newer photo of TigerT, who was four years old and was fatally wounded by multiple gunshots rendered by an Owego Police officer on July 31 between the area of Main Street and Spencer Avenue in Owego, N.Y. (Facebook Photo)
In a scene reminiscent of stories already inundating social media about dogs being perceived as aggressive, a four-year old pit-bull named TigerT was allegedly fatally wounded by multiple gunshots rendered by an unidentified Owego Police Department Officer on July 31 between the areas of Main Street and Spencer Avenue in Owego, N.Y.
Although the Owego Police Department (OPD) has not responded to our inquiries as of this reporting, we did reach out to the owner of the pit-bull, Al Thornton of 64 Spencer Ave. in Owego, N.Y.
According to Al Thornton, his son, Al Thornton IV, was walking TigerT’s six-month old puppy the evening of July 31 when the puppy’s father, TigerT, managed to jump the family’s 4-foot fence and was then running at large.
Al Thornton IV, according to Al Thornton, attempted to catch TigerT, and was assisted by a man who was walking two dogs.
Pictured is TigerT at the age of six months. TigerT allegedly was fatally wounded by multiple gunshots rendered by an Owego Police Department Officer on July 31 between the area of Main Street and Spencer Avenue in Owego, N.Y. (Facebook Photo)
According to Al Thornton, the man walking the two dogs (name unknown) offered the use of a chain to contain TigerT when the police officer approached.
According to an account by Al Thornton of witness reports at the scene, the OPD officer attempted to reach for the dog and was allegedly bit in the hand.
The same witnesses reported that the same OPD officer discharged his weapon multiple times, fatally wounding TigerT.
Al Thornton’s own account of the scene differed slightly, in that he could hear what was going on from over on North Avenue in Owego, N.Y. at the time of the incident.
“I heard two gun shots, and started running over towards Spencer Avenue,” said Al Thornton. He also received a text message from his wife to alert him of what was taking place.
According to Al Thornton, TigerT was mostly likely on Main Street near Chemung Canal Bank when the alleged shots were initially fired. Al Thornton assumed this as a blood trail from the dog led from Chemung Canal over to Spencer Avenue. Al Thornton was also told by witness accounts that there were multiple shots fired as the mortally wounded dog attempted to return home to safety.
According to Charlie Lohmeyer, a Spencer Avenue resident, the dog actually made it as far as his residence, where the dog finally collapsed. Lohmeyer also stated that witness accounts claimed that the unidentified officer fired four more shots, with the fatal shot rendered to the dog’s head.
Lohmeyer was not home at the time, but other residents that reside with him witnessed the scene.
Al Thornton, on the other hand, ran over to Spencer Avenue where his dog was lying on Lohmeyer’s porch, with critical injuries from the bullet wounds.
Al Thornton stated that the Owego Police Department officer told him to step back.
A tearful Al Thornton, in a phone interview on Saturday, stated, “They wouldn’t even let me be with my dog as he was taking his last breath.”
Lohmeyer, when he returned home to the chaos, said that a pool of blood remains on the sidewalk at Spencer and Main Streets, across from a youth bible study that was taking place outdoors.
“This action terrorized at least fifty children in the area,” said Lohmeyer. He also noted that the dog is not aggressive, and that he often would have visits from the dog at his own home.
Al Thornton was given citations, following the incident, for owning an aggressive dog, for a dog running at large, and battery charges for the dog injuring an officer.
In regards to officer injuries, attempts to reach the Owego Police Department as of the time of this reporting have failed.
Al Thornton stated that when he was given the citations, he did notice, however, that the officer had a bandage on his hand from the alleged bite wound.
