Woman charged with shooting 2 dogs in backyard

PHOENIX (AP) - Police say a woman shot two pit bulls with a handgun as the dogs fought in her backyard near 26th Street and Grovers.

Katie Elaine Pallante, 26, is charged with two counts of discharging a firearm in city limits and two counts of animal cruelty and physical neglect.

Pallante tried to break up the fight by spraying water on the dogs before resorting to her .40-caliber handgun.

After wounding the two dogs, she grabbed her 4-year-old daughter and drove to a nearby gas station.

The Humane Society took custody the two dogs, one male and one female.

A police document says the male pit bull is unlikely to survive due to injuries sustained on his spine. The female dog is in better condition.

Pallante was caring for 22 dogs and three cats.

Messages seeking comment from the public defender's office were not immediately returned.