Dog shooting: Owner of bull mastiff shot after attacking greyhound gets banned-dog summons

Update: As we noted yesterday, no charges were filed in the immediate aftermath of an incident in which a man shot a 140-pound dog after it attacked his greyhound -- and that remains the case at this writing. However, the owner of the dead pet -- a bullmastiff named Flato -- has received a summons for unlawful ownership of a dangerous animal. In addition, we now know much more about what happened and who was involved.

The story comes to us courtesy of the Colorado Springs Gazette, which identifies the greyhound's owner as Robert McCombs. He tells the paper he was taking a stroll with his six-year-old pooch, Cooper, when the bull mastiff got away from its owner, Tammy Martinez, and wrapped its jaws around the greyhound's neck. McCombs says he tried to pull the bull mastiff off his dog by its leash and also kicked it to no effect before pulling out a handgun and shooting it twice from close range. The greyhound received a vivid wound that required five staples to repair but will survive.

Martinez, who moved to Colorado Springs from Texas, offers a much different portrait of Flato, whose photo she provided to the paper:

She concedes that Flato bolted in the greyhound's direction, knocking her over and dragging her for fifteen feet before she lost her grip on the leash. But she insists that the dog, a one-time stray she and her late husband adopted seven years earlier, wasn't dangerous and didn't deserve to be shot to death.

While Martinez cope with the loss of Flato, she'll also have to deal with the aforementioned summons. Turns out bull mastiffs are among the breeds banned in the Fort Carson area where the shooting took place, along with -- predictably -- pitbulls.

Look below to see our earlier coverage.

Original item, 8:16 a.m. March 3: Amid debate about a bill that would do away with a required permit for carrying a concealed weapon comes the story of a man who brought a gun with him while walking his dog, and found reason to use it. Specifically, the Colorado Springs resident drew down on a 140-pound canine that went after his greyhound -- and thus far, local police believe he broke no laws doing so.

Get the details from the following Colorado Springs Police Department release, followed by an interactive graphic near where the incident took place; if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."

Incident Date: March 2, 2011 Time: 5:30:00 PM Location: 4800 El Camino Dr

Summary: On March 2nd, 2011, Officers from the Stetson Hills Division were dispatched to the 4800 block of El Camino Dr. in regards to a shots fired call. Upon officers arrival it was determined that the shots were fired by an individual that was walking his dog when another dog attacked his dog. The greyhound dog was being walked by his owner when another dog (a 140 pound dog) broke free from its owner as it was being walked and attacked the greyhound. The owner of the greyhound was armed with a handgun and shot the attacking dog twice as it was attacking his dog. The shots fired into the dog were at close range and there was no danger to the public. The shots killed the attacking dog. The owner of the greyhound was a concealed weapons permit holder. The Humane Society responded to the scene and will be conducting an investigation into any possible charges for animal cruelty. CSPD took a report for Illegal Discharge of a Firearm. At this time it appears that the owner of the greyhound was within the guidelines of the law and no arrests were made.

View Larger Map

More from our News archive: "Dog the Bounty Hunter: Did Duane Chapman make false report about CO Springs shooting?"