Police shot and killed what they said was a large dog as it gripped the torso of a local woman with its teeth on Harding Terrace Thursday night.
The woman and her boyfriend were visiting relatives when they got into an argument with a woman who was walking her two dogs about where the couple had parked their car, police said.
Police would not release the names of the people involved, and they said no arrests were made.
As they were about to move the car, the dog, which police described as a bull mastiff they estimated weighed as much as 150 pounds, pinned the woman against the car and bit her torso, Dedham Police Lt. Mike D'Entremont said.
Three police officers arrived on the street about one minute after receiving a 911 call. One officer fired a shot into the dog's chest to disengage the animal, D'Entremont said.
After being shot, the dog wandered to a nearby porch where it died. Animal control officers removed the body and checked it for rabies, he said.
The woman was taken to Norwood Hospital, but did not have serious injuries.
Police who responded to the 911 call believe the sweatshirt she was wearing may have helped cushion her torso from the dog's bite, D'Entremont said.
After speaking with the 20-year-old woman yesterday, Dedham Canine Control Officer Elizabeth Taylor said the woman had two puncture wounds on her stomach and is traumatized, but is doing fine.
Taylor was not on duty Thursday night, but she said that based on her follow-up investigation, the animal is actually a Chinese pit bull that had all of the required shots and weighs at least 125 pounds.
The breed is not typically aggressive with humans and the dog may have attacked because the owner was upset and not properly restraining the animal, Taylor said.
"The owner should have been able to control the dog," Taylor said. "She was very excited and that would translate to the dog. The dog probably thought that the owner was in danger. She (the owner) was not acting responsibly."
Daily News staff writer Lindsey Parietti can be reached at lindsey.parietti@cnc.com.
