Fort Lauderdale officer shoots dog that bit him, killed pet rabbit: Police

A Fort Lauderdale Police officer shot a dog that bit him after it killed a homeowner’s pet rabbit on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The incident began around 7:40 a.m. when officers responded to the 2800 block of Southwest 8th Street for an animal complaint, Fort Lauderdale Police officials said.

Police said a resident had called for help after a large dog entered their home and killed a pet rabbit then tried to attack the homeowner.

When officers arrived, they encountered the dog outside the home with the dead rabbit still in its mouth, police said.

The dog dropped the rabbit and attacked an officer, biting him on the forearm before the officer opened fire, hitting the dog, police said.

The injured dog fled but was found with help from Broward County Animal Control, who took custody of the dog.

Video from a neighbor’s doorbell camera showed the dog walking in the neighborhood with the rabbit in its mouth, and a cellphone video from the homeowner showed the officer at the scene near the dog.

Officials said the officer suffered minor, non-life threatening injuries and was treated at Broward General Medical Center.

No other injuries were reported.

Katia Rodriguez, who owned the rabbit, Snowball, spoke about what happened.

“I came to drop off the woman who picks up my son, I came back for my nephew, and then my nephew was trying to defend the rabbit, the dog had my nephew cornered, and I told my nephew, ‘go get help here at the house,’ and I tried to defend the rabbit, I hit the dog with the broom and I broke the broom, the pieces are over there,” she said in Spanish. “And I couldn’t do anything because I’m afraid of the big dog, you know? And I saw when he took it out of the cage and took it outside, and I started crying like a child.”

Police said they didn’t have information on the dog’s owner but said the incident was being investigated by the department’s Animal Crimes Unit.