A deputy shot and wounded a dog Thursday after four large dogs charged him and a sheriff's bloodhound K-9 in the middle of a search for a missing 90-year-old man in Apple Valley. The confrontation unfolded in the 21,000 block of Ramona Avenue, where deputies were working to track down a man described by officials as having cognitive issues.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department spokeswoman Jenny Smith told VVNG that Apple Valley station deputies responded to the missing-person search on Thursday and deployed a bloodhound scent-tracking K-9 to help locate the man. While the search was underway, four large dogs — each weighing approximately 100 pounds — charged from a nearby residence toward the deputy and the K-9, according to officials.
Deputy Opens Fire as Dogs Close In
The deputy fired at the dogs and struck one of them, Smith said. Deputies then requested animal control assistance immediately and located the wounded dog, which an animal control officer took to a local animal hospital for treatment, per the Sheriff's Department. Neither the deputy nor the sheriff's K-9 was injured during the encounter, officials said.
The department had not located the missing man by the time it reported the incident, and additional details about the search were unavailable at publication. The outlet that first reported the confrontation, the station notes it will update its article as more information becomes available.
Earlier Search for Missing Apple Valley Man
An earlier VVNG report identified the missing man as Heinz Dieter Wolf, a 90-year-old Apple Valley resident with cognitive impairment who was reported missing by a family member. Wolf was last seen at his residence on August 9. He was found deceased on August 13, the day after he was reported missing.
Not the First Time a Deputy's Dog Encounter Has Made News
Thursday's shooting adds to a string of recent California cases in which deputies have opened fire on dogs during law enforcement activity. In May, the Los Angeles Times reported that a San Bernardino deputy fatally shot a homeowner's dog while investigating a stolen vehicle. In September, a Stanislaus County deputy shot a dog during a marijuana search after a K-9 was attacked, according to the sheriff, as reported by CBS Sacramento. A separate incident covered by KTLA described a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy opening fire on a dog after the animal allegedly bit the deputy in the City of Industry.
Under California law, the state's Food and Agricultural Code generally allows a person to kill a dog under specified circumstances without facing civil or criminal liability, though it remains unclear whether those conditions apply to Thursday's shooting. No further details about the wounded dog's owner, breed, or condition were available at the time of publication.
