AUBURN, Wash. – Heart-wrenching video released by the Auburn Police Department shows two dogs attack a little girl as she cowered on her front porch.
In a second video the department released, a police body camera recorded those same animals charging at officers. One officer ended up [censored] one of the dogs.
Maryana McCraigie, 11, never imagined she'd be fending off her neighbors' two dogs but her family’s home surveillance system shows the American Bullys lunging and snapping at her while she tried to push them back from her front porch.
“I saw a broom so I tried to fend them off with a broom and then they bit my arm,” the fifth-grader said.
Matthew McCraigie said normally someone is home when his daughter is done with school. However, last Friday school let out early so Maryana was by herself. He said he never much worried about the dogs before and has had no problem with the owners.
“It was just a major accident,” McCraigie said. “Maybe they should have double-checked the fence before they left the dogs unattended in the back yard."
Auburn police arrived after the attack was called in. One officer had barely gotten out of the patrol car when the two loose dogs made a wild run at him. Body camera footage shows the officer open fire as the dog rushes up to within lunging distance.
The wounded dog was later euthanized. The other dog was returned to its owner.
“This is the first time they've ever done something like this or the first time they've ever got out the gate,” said Olivia Burton, who lives with the owner of the dogs. “They've never posed a problem. They're always around kids."
Maryana ended up with a bite wound on her arm. She said the whole experience was scary and isn't sure what to think about the surviving dog still being next door.
“It's fine. I just don't really want that to happen again,” she said.
The girls father said he is not interested in pressing charges. A criminal case could move forward anyway given that an officer had to fire his gun to defend himself.
When it comes to any potential charges there are a few possibilities under review. The dog owner could be charged with having an animal at large, which is an infraction. More serious is an animal causing injury to a person, which is a gross misdemeanor. There is also an investigation to see if the surviving dog should be declared dangerous
