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An afternoon that began with two German shepherds escaping their owner's backyard and allegedly biting two residents ended when the dogs were shot, one fatally in University Park.

University Park Police Officer Antonio Barreto responded to a June 7 report of two loose dogs in the 6400 block of Queens Chapel Road. When the dogs came toward him menacingly, he shot them, police said.

"We feel that Officer Barreto exercised proper caution in the interest of public safety," said University Park Police Lt. Wayne McCully. "He, himself, was being attacked by the dogs."

The dogs' owner, Juanita Holland, declined to comment.

Police believe the dogs escaped through an open backyard fence while Holland was away attending a graduation.

Holland's neighbor, Steve Crane, said he first saw the dogs roaming the neighborhood between 1 and 2 p.m. and unsuccessfully tried to herd them into Holland's backyard.

The dogs left the area and returned about 30 minutes later, police said. When they entered Holland's backyard, Crane tried to close the gate behind them. They escaped again and ran toward him, Crane said.

"One of them bit me," said Crane, who lives directly across the street from Holland. "It got my ankle. It sort of nipped at me and broke the skin, but it wasn't any sort of great wound."

Crane called police and Barreto arrived at about 2 p.m. The dogs then returned, one going into Holland's backyard and the other onto her porch, Crane said.

When Barreto approached the house, the dog on the porch came toward him, police said.

"[The dog] leaped a bush and came at him barking in attack mode and the officer shot [it]," Crane said. "[It] yelped, stopped, lied down in the street and didn't move again."

The second dog came from the backyard and was shot in the jaw by Barreto after it too appeared ready to attack him, police said. The dog retreated into the backyard.

Barreto, who will not face any internal disciplinary action, shot both dogs once. The first died at the scene and was taken away by Prince George's County animal control officers. The second was treated at an animal hospital in Lanham and is back at home recovering.

Crane and a second bite victim suffered puncture wounds to their right legs. Both declined emergency care at the scene.

The county's Animal Management Group advises residents to call them instead of police when an animal is loose, said AMG Associate Director Rodney Taylor. If police are called to the scene, they are not required to consult with AMG in resolving the situation.

"It's very rare that we'll call county police because we can't control an animal," Taylor said.

McCully said police had never received any past complaints about the dogs, which local residents said were usually well behaved.

"I would see the dogs around," said Pete Pichaske, who lives in the 4300 block of Sheridan Street. "They seemed like harmless dogs to me."

Police spoke with Holland when she returned home later that day. McCully said she did not object to Barreto's use of force and has not filed a complaint with police.

"It wasn't a confrontational type of meeting," McCully said. "She understood what we had to do."

E-mail David Hill at dhill@gazette.net.