WEXFORD, Pa. (Sept. 21, 2006) -- Two dogs owned by Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter got off his fenced property and killed a miniature horse on a nearby farm, leading to citations that carry several hundred dollars in potential fines.
Porter's dogs, a pit bull and a mastiff, got loose Sept. 19 and killed the horse that was less than three feet tall. The dogs were still in the dead horse's corral when police and animal control officials arrived, Northern Regional Police Chief Bob Amann said.
Porter helped police get the dogs off the property and back to his home. Because Porter's yard is fully fenced, police did not know how the dogs got loose.
"It was an accident and I am not sure how the dogs escaped," Porter said in a statement. "I have reached out to the owners of the horse and will do whatever I can to help them get through this very unfortunate situation."
The horse's owners have so far declined comment.
Porter was cited for harboring dangerous dogs, failure to confine the dogs, and failure to have the dogs licensed. The fines carry several hundred dollars in potential fines.
Porter said he raised the dogs as pets and not as attack animals and plans to send them to a kennel in California for safe keeping.
Porter lives in Pine Township, north of Pittsburgh, but officials with the Northern Regional Police said Porter's dogs were licensed in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., not in Allegheny County.
