now the dirt comes out
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/a...01&status=true
Dog had history with animal control
Most recent incident reported in March
Updated: Thursday, 19 Apr 2012, 8:09 AM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 18 Apr 2012, 9:49 PM CDT
* Shannon Wolfson
AUSTIN (KXAN) - A dog shot and killed by an Austin police officer had a history with Austin Animal Control, which included two complaints of aggressive behavior, including a woman who reported the dog bit her in 2007.
Cisco, a 7-year-old blue heeler, was shot and killed Saturday in his owners' driveway. Michael Paxton said his dog barked at officer Thomas Griffin and ran toward him -- but said he would not have hurt the officer.
On March 21 a man reported Cisco and his owner in a call to 311, claiming the dog was aggressive toward him as he walked by the Paxton home.
"I almost got bitten by a dog, and I need someone to come and talk to this homeowner," William Harris told a 311 dispatcher in an audio recording obtained by KXAN News. "I'm walking on the sidewalk, and this dog comes out chasing, growling around me and stuff and he [Paxton] is hollering, 'Don't move. He won't bite you as long as I'm here."
Harris goes on to ask the dispatcher to send an animal control representative to speak to the dog's owner, who did not have him on a leash.
"He had his teeth, real aggressive right up close to my arm and stuff," Harris told the dispatcher. "He took him back. The dog had no leash or nothing on it. The dog came running out at me."
But Paxton tells a different story and said Wednesday Harris was not telling the full truth about what happened.
"Cisco like, walked towards him to sniff at him. Well he wasn't too happy about that, and he immediately just flew off the handle, 'Grab your dog,' yelling at me," said Paxton. "It escalated pretty quickly, where he was like yelling at me. And of course the dog started barking at him because he's basically being aggressive toward me."
The dog's owner said the incident with Harris was similar to the one with Griffin on Saturday.
"It's very parallel to what happened with the officer because the officer that came down the driveway was yelling at me, you know, with a gun drawn, and was -- in the dog's opinion and in mine -- aggressive behavior. And I think Mr. Harris exhibited some aggressive behavior himself," said Paxton.
Austin Animal Control took another complaint against Cisco in 2007.
A woman said the dog bit her in a parking lot when she tried to pet him. The report said her injuries were minor.
Paxton did have Cisco on a leash during that incident but said he did not see what happened.
"I know that sometimes when you're playing with him and you're scratching him and you stop, he goes to pull at your hand and nip at your hand to get you to pet him some more," said Paxton. "I suspect that's probably what happened."
Paxton said Cisco was not an aggressive dog but rather a playful, protective companion. He admits the dog did bark a lot, which some people may have perceived to be aggressive.
Despite those two incidents, Cisco was never labeled a vicious dog by Animal Control.