WARREN, Vt. (AP) – Defending their use of a Taser stun gun on a pit bull that later died, Vermont State Police said Wednesday they were trying to save it, not kill it.

“Under the circumstances, there was a threat of serious bodily injury or death to the troopers, said Sgt. John Flannigan, a spokesman.

The incident occurred Aug. 9, after Lindsay Stafford, 29, was involved in a traffic accident at which police said they saw evidence of drug use. After learning that both Stafford and her husband, Thomas Stafford, had outstanding warrants, police obtained a search warrant for the couple’s home, where they seized 91 marijuana plants and cited the couple.

Thomas Stafford said he told police how to get around his dog, a 7-year-old pit bull named Maxamus, which he said was inside the house before he left for work that day; police said he told them he didn’t know how the dog would react to them.

The dog, which was raised on a horse farm, lived with cats and was friendly with people, according to Thomas Stafford.

“They talked to me beforehand and I told them what to do to get into the house,” said Thomas Stafford. “Then they left (the dog) for dead on my porch.”

Flannigan said the dog, which was unrestrained, aggressively bared its teeth, barked and growled. Police would have been justified in shooting the dog, but opted to use a Taser instead, in hopes of saving it.

“While others attempted to secure the dog, the dog was snapping its teeth at two troopers, who were attempting to secure it. The dog was tased multiple times because after each shock it would quickly recover and continue its aggression. This pattern required the troopers to physically restrain during the last tase,” Flannigan said.

He called the dog’s death unfortunate.

Lt. Paul White of the Vermont State Police said no necropsy was performed on the dog, so police don’t know if the Taser was the cause of death.

Vermont police agencies have been under increased scrutiny about their use of Tasers in the wake of a series of incidents, two of which involved psychiatric patients.

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Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/

AP-ES-08-29-07 1802EDT