Buxton police are investigating an incident in which two pit bulls were shot and wounded at their owners’ home at 43 Fifield Drive, and are asking for help locating one of the dogs, which ran away after being shot in the hind legs.

Officer Scott Camire and Police Chief Troy Cline arrived at the home around 2 p.m. Thursday where they met with the dogs’ owner Joanne Lamontagne.

Lamontagne and her husband directed the officers to a room inside their home where the dog was located.

“The dog had obvious injuries to the front of its body,” Buxton police said in a post on the department’s Facebook page. “The dog was still bleeding from numerous wounds and they all appeared to be from a firearm.”

Camire took that dog to the Animal Emergency Clinic on Warren Avenue in Portland. He said the animal’s wounds did not appear to be life-threatening.

Officer Keith Waltz arrived soon after and learned that a second pit bull also had been shot, and fled before its owners could catch it.

Waltz canvassed the area and found witnesses, who told him the dog had fled into the woods in the vicinity of 1166 River Road. Witnesses said the dog was bleeding, but when they tried to capture it, the animal ran off.

“This canine should have injuries to its hind quarter, and caution should be used as it is injured,” Buxton police said in the post.

Anyone with information about the shootings should contact Officer Waltz or Animal Control Officer Adele Jones at 929-5151 or 929-6612.

Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com