Iowa man stabs attacking pit bull in self defense, gets ticket

DUBUQUE – An Iowa man and his dog were attacked by “Beefy” the pit bull, leading to the pit being stabbed to death and a ticket for the victim.

On July 4th, 2017, at approximately 7:00 PM, Dubuque Police responded to 389 East 21st Street on the report of dog that had been stabbed. The investigation revealed that a pit bull dog (reportedly named “Beefy”) owned by Charles and Kelly Grau of that address, escaped their yard due to inadequate fencing. Beefy proceeded into the yard of neighbor Jeffrey Brenner at 2109 Elm Street and began attacking Brenner and his dog, reportedly a coon hound. Brenner utilized a knife to stop the attack, wounding the Grau’s dog with as many as 22 stabs. Both Brenner and his dog also suffered injuries that were determined not life-threatening. Beefy was transported to a veterinarian’s office, where it died some time over night.  Brenner was seeking rabies shot due to a bite from the pit.

Based on the investigation, Brenner was determined to have acted in self-defense (and in defense of his dog) as permitted by Iowa law. He was, however, cited for not having his dog licensed and vaccinated, Dubuque police say. Kelly Grau was also cited for the above violations, as well as failing to restrain Beefy from running at large. The above referenced citations were all issued on July 13th, 2017, at the conclusion of the investigation.