Dog put down after attack

A pit bull that chewed off part of a Lake Ridge woman’s finger was destroyed by Prince William County animal control officials with its owner’s consent, police said Tuesday.

Another pit bull that was with the offending dog during the attack will be relocated to another home outside of Prince William County, according to 1st Sgt. Kim D. Chinn, Prince William police spokeswoman.

One of the two dogs attacked 31-year-old Amy Pokorak when she tried to defend her dogs, Jack Russell terrier Chloe and Cairne terrier Chester. Pokorak was walking toward a garbage can to dispose of a bag of excrement near the intersection of Springwoods Drive and Blysdale Lane at 8:20 p.m. when the attack occurred.

The pit bull bit through her finger “like it was butter,” she said in a July 4 telephone interview.

Pokorak said then that the dogs should die because they are dangerous and kids live in the neighborhood.

Pit bulls are also members of the terrier family. They were bred to bring down unruly bulls and are trained to be animal aggressive, dog experts say. They have a high pain threshold.

The pit bulls’ owner Richard James Putney Jr., 31, of 11581 Bertram Street in Woodbridge, was charged with allowing a dog to run free. He is due in court Aug. 15.

Without Putney’s consent, authorities would have had to obtain a court order to euthanize the dog.

Pokorak said as she was walking her dogs, the pit bulls ran up to her from between two houses across the street, snipping and biting at the two smaller dogs. They snapped at Chester’s neck and then went after Chloe, pinning her in a submissive position, biting her ears and neck. They began to drag her away, Pokorak said.

Chloe had a swollen neck and whiplash. A veterinarian put stitches in her neck and prescribed antibiotics.

The pit bulls ran away when two witnesses came to Pokorak’s aid, one of them with a shovel. They ran over when they heard her scream, police said.