SYLVANIA - A In pursuit of an aggressive pit bull dog recently, Screven County Sheriff's deputies came upon a 4 ½-foot rattle snake instead.
      In response to a call from Cab Drive from a mother who feared for the safety of her children, Dep. Bill Collins and others arrived on the scene. The woman reported that the dog had become very aggressive and she said that the true owner, who is the only person who can calm the dog, is currently incarcerated, Collins said.
      Trustees with catch poles attempted to corner the canine, Collins said, when it began to growl and show its teeth. A deputy shot three times toward the animal, Collins said, attempting to prevent it from biting any of the men. The dog then ran off into a wooded area, he said.
      Although they continued after him, the hunt took a wild detour when the men came upon a 4 ½-foot rattle snake lying in the woods, he said. After the snake was shot and killed, the hunt for the bull dog continued but it was never located, he said.
      After another bull dog in Screven became aggressive, a subsequent attack sent a young girl to the emergency room this week. Her great-grandmother called the Sheriff's office after the girl had been bitten by a neighbor's bull dog on Story Road. She had two puncture wounds on her leg around the knee area, Dep. Richard Knowles said. This case was turned over to animal control.