Puppy Killed in Congressional Cemetery

A pit bull killed a puppy in Congressional Cemetery earlier this month, the group that manages the grounds said today.

The fatal attack happened Aug. 1, the Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery said in an email to dog walkers. The owners of the dogs were both members of the K9 Corps, which oversees use of the Hill East cemetery by dogs.

The pit bull’s owner has left the K9 Corps, and the dog will “never again visit the grounds,” according to the association. It wasn’t immediately clear if the pit bull was put down.

“Tragic and troublesome though this event has been, the [association’s board] and [K9 Corps] are very satisfied, and even impressed, by the conduct of the staff and dog owners throughout this difficult case,” the group said.

Paul Williams, the association’s president, told Hill Now that the death was an “unfortunate incident,” but declined to comment further.

The association’s board has decided not to change any of its dog walking rules after the attack. But the organization reminded dog walkers in its email that all K-9 Corps dogs must be spayed or neutered and controlled by their owners.

“No set of decisions in this matter would ever have been fully satisfactory to every one of [the cemetery’s] valued stakeholders, but we hope that this sad episode will ultimately be a teachable moment for our governance and our collective responsibility to serve the spirit and heritage of the cemetery,” the group said.

Photo via Wikimedia/Mr. Johnson, often nefarious