DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (WPVI) — A dog has been euthanized after recent attacks left several people injured and a Downingtown, Pennsylvania, community on edge.
A court hearing on the matter was held on Thursday morning. On the advice of the dog owner’s legal counsel, the owner agreed to surrender the animal to be euthanized.
(The video in the player above is from previous coverage.)
One of the attacks injured a 4-year-old boy in November on the 500 block of Thomas Road. The child’s mother said her son was dragged across the yard.
“My son was playing in our backyard and the dogs ran out of her home. One of them jumped my fence and ran after him and attacked him and drug him through the yard by his arm,” said Whitley Coggins. “Physically, he’s scarred – he’s scarred really badly.
Emotionally, no, he’s not doing well.”
Police said the same dog attacked again in late January, injuring a tow truck driver in a less severe incident.
Downingtown Police Chief Brendan Brazunas said there were also incidents involving the same dog owner in the summer of 2024 and others dating back to 2022, adding that additional cases may have gone unreported.
On Wednesday night, Coggins told Action News that the community was fearful of leaving their homes.
“Nobody wants to walk their pets. None of the kids want to get off the bus and walk down our street. The mail guy doesn’t want to come, nobody wants to come where we live. We need our street to be safe,” Coggins added.
Police say the dog owner was apologetic to the Coggins family. Charges in that case have been dropped.
The case involving the tow truck driver can proceed, but it will now be handled by the SPCA.
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