Middletown transcript., 1911-07-22
DANGEROUS DOG KILLED
Bit Officer HiIyard and a Number
Of Dogs and May Be Mad

4 was walking down East Main street he
was viciously attacked by a large brown
dog which bit him severely on the right
hand piercing the skin both on the palm
and on the back and biting or tearing a
large piece out of the sleeve of his uniform.
Drawing his worthless revolver the
officer sought to defend himself, and
snapped four cartridges at the infuriatsd
beast, not one Of which explodedf He al.
so struck the animal with bis club.
He went at once to Mr.. Ernest Truitt's
drug store and he came down and used
hydrogen peroxide upon the wouude.
Mr.. Hilyard then went to Dr. William
G. Powell, the physician who is caring
for DIR. Ritchie's practice during his va.
cation and be used the usual antiseptic and
germicidal precautions against possible
rabies infection cauterizipg the wound
with carbolic acid.
This was about II o'clock. From then
until past one q vigorous hunt was in
stituted by Messrs. Riggs, Cochran, Mas.
sey Chief Hilyard, Detective Armstrong,
the towns efficient dog catcher and sew
eral others all armed with revolvers and
shot guns. Much of the town was search
ed, and though many stories of the dogs
being seen by various persons, we're
recited none of bis pursuers saw him IN.
til about one o'clock when Mr.. Lee Coch-
ran saw him on East Lake street on the
pavement near Messrs. Montglmery's
and Pyle's houses and fred at him three
times, knocking him over and Wounding,
him SO badly be could be traced for some
tance by the blood he lost.
On Wednesday morning the same saw.
age dog that on Tuesday Right attacked
officer Harry HiIyard tearing his uni
form badly and biting him severely on his
night hand, weAt growelling towards a
colored man named Elias Pullman at the
church bill mile south of MiddletoWn,
and was knocked down with a brick. |
Pullman then got his gun and shot it SO
hard that it fell, but finally again ran off. |
Hearing news Of it later in the day in
the direction of Warwick. Officer Hill
yard and John Baltley followed its trail |
out on the Bunker Hill road, and at last |
discovered it's home and owner Mr.. Lee
Matthew's farmer near Bunker Hill, Nd.
He said the animal came home, Wednes-
day and he noticing that it had acted queer
ly for a week and knowing it had already
bitten rabbit dog on his place, chained
the beast up in the barn where officer
officer HiIyard and the town dog catcher,
John BARLEY found it.
He sprang at his owner, and tried to
bite him whereupon BARLEY at once shot
him dead.
ing to the psychologists at Delaware
College to be examined as to the presence
of rabies. Officer HiIyard also at that
time at once commenced taking the Pa
steur treatment for rabies.
The Town Board have voted to provide
officer Hilyard with suitable weapon,
his revolver having four times failed to
explode cartridge when he was attacked
by the cur. Whether other dogs than Mr..
Matthews have been bitten is not certain
ly known, though it is said that the kill
ed dog did attack a number of other dogs.
Should the experts pronounce it case of
rabies, the situation in this town and
where this vicious beast has
been roaming at will, attacking man and
beast, may be grave one.
Knowing the imperative necessity of
killing this wild beast the soonest posi-
BILE lest he infect other dogs. or bite other
persons, these public spirited individuals
very wisely tried to hunt him down at
once, and deserve the thanks of the peo.
pie rather than the hypercritical remarks
flying around upon their attempts to rid
the town of wild beast.
Some of the stories are utterly foolish
in their exaggeration. Here's a sample
yarn. The shooting took place on Lake
street near the Cass street corner and yet
one true story says some of the shot
went into a second-story window on
Broad street. The dog must have been
flying high at the time that shot was
fired! Then, too, it was a wonderful
gun, like old Daddy Knowles of Odessa
which would kill game around corner!
Another equally truthful tale has it that
d man was sitting on his porch on High
Street in Odessa, at one o'clock in the
and had just lit his pipe when
some of the very same shot came along,
and knocked it out of his mouth Our
informant states that be groWelled some
thing about it mot being safe to sit on
your front porch in Odessa while the mad
dog scare was onin MiddletoWn," and
went to bed. You see, the shot we're
chilled and they carry far-almost as far
IN fact, as some Of these yarns!
Again, some verscious gossep stuffed
he reporter of the Every EUening with
his Munchausen tale. ''It was. fortunate
hat the many frightened persons remain
ID in bed, as probably handful of shot
vas picked out of the woodwork on the
ront porches of Thomas Pyle, Isaac
Wilson and other residents on Lake street
his morniDgP
The TRANsCRIFT has never hesitated to !
,riticise improper actions OF anyone in /
public affairs, but has always tried to be
ust and fair. And after examining the
acts, seeing the premises both by day
md at night where the shooting occurred {
Ind remembering that supposedly mad
log and certainly large, vicious and
dangerous one was at large in the town,
loes not think these gentlemen have done
Gnything to call for censure. c
Here is the situation at the time Mr.. | /
Lee Cochran fred the three shots which
did lite damage to a
Green door of one resident and peppered
he low facer-board of porch just above '
of another.
In the first place all the porcbes were
q the full glare Of two lights, one about
20 feet away on the same side, and so {
here was no possibility of hitting any
me sitting on them. In the next place q
be dog after being hunted for two hours I
vas seen standing on the pavement in e
ront of these hoHses, and Mr.. Cochran !
tanding in the street about so feet away
hot obliquely at the cur, and some of the {
hot striking the pavement did glance as 8
ligh as three or four feet and struck the h
Green door. The writer has a shot
picked ont Of this front door with some
u the brick dust still on it,
But what was Mr.. Cochran to do?
should he have called "Doggie, doggie
;ome out into the middle Of the street and Y
lie down like good doggie and be shot," y
,r blaze away as be did 2 J
Had child or woman been torn by this
possibly mad dog, then there would have a