Dog shot Tucson, AZ (US) Incident Date: Monday, Oct 17, 2005 County: Pima Local Map: available Disposition: Convicted Abuser/Suspect: Ralph Edwin Adamson Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

Case ID: 5760 Classification: Shooting Animal: dog (pit-bull) View more cases in AZ (US) Animal was offleash or loose Login to Watch this Case

Conflicting stories are emerging about events leading up to the Oct 17 shooting of a dog in a Midtown Tucson neighborhood. Tierra Grady, owner of two pit-bull-mixed dogs - sisters Cherry and Brin - is grieving the loss of her 2-year old family pet, who she said looks more like a boxer than a pit bull.

Brin, named for her brindle black and brown spots, was shot twice early on the morning of Oct 17 by security guard Ralph Edwin Adamson, who said he fired in self-defense.

He's been charged with endangerment, animal cruelty and discharging a firearm within city limits, all felonies.

The dog was shot twice, once in the shoulder and once in the stomach, Grady said. She rushed her dog to the veterinarian for treatment but had to have it euthanized.

"I needed $450 up front just to put her on IVs and X-ray her," Grady said. "I don't have that kind of money, so I had to make a difficult decision to put her down."

At about 6:45 a.m., Grady said she noticed her dogs had gotten out of the yard and wandered onto the easement in front of her next-door neighbor's house, so she went to retrieve them. Before she could reach them, she said Adamson drew and fired his weapon.

"I yelled, 'That's not necessary. That's not necessary,' " Grady said. " 'I'm gonna get my dogs.' "

Adamson's wife, Delores Adamson, spoke on behalf of her husband who was working and unavailable for comment.

On his way home from his job as security guard, she said her husband saw someone being chased by two pit bulls. He stopped the car and went after the dogs on foot. He saw Grady with her dogs and told her to get them under control, she said.

The dogs barked in a threatening manner, showed teeth and were moving toward him, she said. "It was self-defense."

The neighborhood, in the 3300 block of East Bellevue, near East Speedway and North Country Club Road, has a lot of dogs, many wandering in the street without a leash, Delores Adamson said.

"There's a bunch of dogs running around," she said. "And pit bulls are all over (the neighborhood)."

Her own cat was mauled and killed by two pit bulls in the neighborhood. she said.

Her husband was trying to protect the community and may have let his emotions override common sense, she said.

Neighbor Sky Mansfield, who lives across the street from Grady, was in her yard at 6:15 a.m. when two pit bulls jumped the fence and entered her back yard. She said the animals were aggressive and intimidating, so she went in the house. She later heard the gunshots.

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References

	Arizona Daily Star - Oct 19, 2005
	Arizona Daily Star - Oct 18, 2005
	KVOA Tucson - May 1, 2006 302

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