LEESBURG, Fla. -- Sunday night, the owner of the pit bull that allegedly went after a Lake County man refused to believe his pet was responsible for a violent attack.

“The news is wrong!” the dog’s owner, Thomas Degeorge, told Channel 9 Eyewitness News. “It’s not a killer dog, it’s a puppy. That guy overreacted!”

But Joe Pipala of Leesburg strongly disagreed. He said he was walking his terrier along Maple Street, when a pair of pit bulls charged him in his own yard.

“I thought I had had it,” said Pipala. “I thought it was all over!” Pipala said he tried scaring them, then tried hitting them with a tree limb, but he said the pit bulls kept trying to bite him.

That’s when Pipala’s neighbor Jeff Lint grabbed a 12-gauge shot gun and opened fire, wounding one of the dogs and scaring the second one.

“I hated to shoot the dog, I really did,” said Lint. “But when they are turning on people, you’ve got to do something.”

The wounded pit bull was badly injured and euthanized shortly after. Lake County Deputies said the dogs escaped from a nearby nursery. But Degeorge defended his pet’s behavior, and said he was angry his so-called “best buddy” was killed.

“People come to the [nursery] and pet it all day long,” Degeorge said. “My granddaughter rides the dog – it’s not a killer dog!”

Lake County Animal Services could not be reached for comment, but Channel 9 Eyewitness News learned the second pit bull was captured by agents and returned to its owner. The owner was also reportedly fined $50.