Gilpin police are investigating whether the shooting of three dogs Sunday was justified after one of them bit a neighbor.

Police Chief Christopher Fabec said the dogs were shot after one of them bit a woman from a neighboring property multiple times on the leg and thigh. She was treated at the scene by emergency medical responders, he said.

Two of the dogs died.

The incident happened shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Lessig Road when the dogs were put outside and managed to push a latched gate open, said their owner, Marnee Joyner.

“My son yelled to us that the dogs were out of the yard, so we all went running after them,” Joyner said.

Joyner said the dogs ran down the driveway and onto the road and were heading back toward the house when she heard multiple gunshots.

She said the dogs were not on her neighbor’s property when they were shot.

One of the dogs who died was a 5-year-old Shiba Inu and blue heeler mix named Rex. The animal died on the way to a veterinarian for treatment, she said.

A black-and-white husky named Echo, who also was 5 and served as a therapy dog, died after being shot above the ribs near its lungs. The dog died while veterinarians were prepping it for surgery, Joyner said.

She said her 1½-year-old malamute named Aura is recovering from a gunshot wound above the eyelid.

Joyner said the bullet went into the dog’s skull just above the eyelid and exited without causing major trauma.

The dog suffered a broken cheek bone and was scheduled to be released from the vet Monday afternoon, she said.

Armstrong County humane officer Amber Phillips said she is arranging to have the two deceased dogs taken to a facility in Harrisburg, where a necropsy will be performed to determine the cause and manner of their deaths.

Phillips said the veterinarians who treated the dogs reported the wounds appear to have been inflicted by rounds from a pistol.

Phillips said killing a dog is justified in Pennsylvania only if the animal “is actively attacking.”

Phillips, who covers the portion of the county where the incident occurred, said she has not previously been called to the neighborhood for complaints about the dogs.

A gofundme.com page has been set up to help the family cover the cost of veterinarian bills for the animals who were treated.

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