Dog involved in township fight

Brandon Twp.- On Oct. 20, Brandon deputies were dispatched to the area of Dogwood Boulevard and Wildwood Loop for three boys fighting. While checking the complaint, the deputies were sent to meet a complainant on Wildwood Loop who said a neighbor’s dog had just bitten him.
The deputies observed a quarter-sized spot on the man’s arm where the skin was broken and turning red. The complainant said he had gone to the home which backed up to his lot because the owners were not caring for their dog, which he said he and his girlfriend had been feeding as it appeared to be starving.
The dog, he said, was also kept locked in a detached shed and scratches and cries all night. When he went to confront the owner, an argument ensued and the complainant and dog’s owner went to where the dog was chained.
The complainant told police the suspect then encouraged the dog to attack him, saying, ‘Attack him, get him boy.?
The dog bit, and a second man at the home came outside with a baseball bat. The complainant returned to his yard and came back with a shovel. More words were exchanged before the complainant left and called police.
The suspect was found to have warrants out on him and was taken to the Waterford Police Department.
The man who had brought the baseball bat was told to take the dog back into the house and wait for an officer to interview him. When a deputy went in to interview the man, the dog started toward him with its ears back and the hair up on its neck. The deputy informed the man if the dog bit him he would kill it. The man pulled the dog back and put it in another room.
The man then told the deputy the complainant had come to their door with two women and accused them of mistreatment of the dog and was yelling cuss words in front of his 2-year-old niece. The man got the bat after the complainant was bitten and said, ‘I’ll show you a dog, I’ll get my pit bull to tear you and your dog up.?
He and his sister denied mistreatment of the dog, which was taken by animal control. A neighbor heard yelling, but didn’t see the fight. She said she has seen her neighbor hit and kick the dog. The case is open.