KILLEEN, Texas — A Killeen pet owner is gaining national attention after her 4-year-old pit bull mix was euthanized by the City of Killeen for reported violent behavior.
Amanda Salmeron says her dog, Bruce, has never bit anyone and was wrongfully put down.
"It's the potential to attack," Salmeron said. "People have the potential to go rob banks, and people have the potential to kill. Any animal does. Are we just going to kill them all?"
However, a dog doesn't have to bite someone to be deemed dangerous, according to the city.
While there is no evidence the dog did bite anyone, the City of Killeen has two definitions of a dangerous dog:
(1) Makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own; or
(2) Commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own and those acts cause a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause bodily injury to that person.
In the span of two years, Bruce has escaped numerous times from the owner's backyard.
"We were trying to take those precautions to make sure that he stayed in the fence, then we realized that Bruce was very much a dog of habit," Salmeron said.
Records from the city claim Bruce has jumped over fences multiple times, mauled a cat to death, chased neighbors into their homes and even damaged private property.
"I looked in the neighborhood Facebook group and sure enough, there were numerous posts of that dog," Erin Eskew, who filed the initial report, said.
Eskew said she made the report after Bruce charged at her in her own backyard.
"He was always in someone else's property and quite a few people were scared of him," she said.
Other neighbors took matters into their own hands, including Lora and Charles Methvin. They were enjoying a cup of coffee outside when Bruce charged at them, they said.
"I was hysterical," Lora Methvin said. "I was surprised that the dog didn't bite me, and I was scared to death."
Her husband purchased a metal fence to prevent Bruce from coming inside their backyard, she said. Charles Methvin says it cost them over $7,000. He plans on replacing all of the wooden fencing with metal fencing.
"We still felt so threatened on our own property," he said.
The city gave Salmeron a warning, but a few weeks later, Bruce escaped again. He was then seized by the city.
A city judge reviewed the evidence and ruled Bruce needed to be put down.
Executive Director of Communications for the City of Killeen Janell Ford says the decision wasn't an easy one.
"That is a family member," Ford said. "We definitely understand that it's not easy to do, although we must take priority when it comes to the safety and security of our citizens."
The neighbors say they didn't want this, but they wanted to feel safe in their own backyard.
"For my children not to be able to play in the yard in the home that we purchased, to feel like they can't go outside without me being terrified that the dog would attack them," Eskew said. "I've had nightmares about the dog attacking me."
There has been speculation if this is the right dog or not, but Eskew says the evidence provided in court were all of Bruce.
"I went through screenshot by screenshot and made sure that the 90 screenshots that were presented in court, were specifically referencing to either the dog -- that she identified as her dog that was out -- or someone else would post about the dog being out," Eskew said. "As the owner, she would comment in the comments either thanking them for finding him or letting them know that he was home safe. Other dogs have been posted about, but the those specific 90 screenshots were specifically about Bruce."
Bruce's owner had 10 calendar days to appeal the judge's decision on Jan. 20. Salmeron says she wasn't able to fill out the paperwork for an appeal within the said timeframe and that the ice storm prevented her from doing so.
She said her GoFundMe is still active as she is trying to raise money for a potential lawsuit against Killeen.
Paw Pals is also airing a segment over Bruce on March 24.