Retired police dog in Chula Vista church allegedly attacks Navy veteran

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Erwin Montoya, a longtime U.S. Navy veteran, served for 22 years and was deployed four times.

He was looking for a new career after spending most of his service training bomb detection dogs.

Montoya told ABC 10 he believed he had found the right match and wanted to do business with a man who ran a security company that used retired police dogs to sniff out guns or explosives.

However, Montoya said a training session for one of those dogs on May 26, 2023, went horribly wrong.

At that time, according to a lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court, he went to the International Christian Center in Chula Vista to train a Belgian Shepherd.

The dog, who looks like a smaller, blonder German Shepherd, had vicious tendencies and was prone to chasing, biting, mauling and disfiguring people who approached him, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit, filed March 1, alleges the dog had previously bitten at least one other person.

However, it was housed in an outbuilding on the church grounds.

And the training session quickly turned violent, Montoya said.

“I intervened and told myself based on my experience that I better intervene before it got worse,” Montoya told ABC 10. “So I grabbed the leash and tried to get the dog under control.”

Montoya said he then backed away, hit his head on a table and fell to the ground.

“The dog bit me all over my left side,” Montoya said, adding that his left arm was torn.

He said the dog also bit him in the stomach and tried to kill him.

“He was going for my throat,” Montoya said. “When a dog bites your neck, it’s a 50-50 chance… I thought I was going to die that day. I was in shock and thinking about my newborn baby.”

Montoya said he was taken to a hospital because of the bites and did not know why the dog was housed in the church.

“I’m not sure why they were harboring a dog,” he said.

Montoya sued the International Christian Center and the dog owner for negligence and liability.

Among other things, it was said that the dog was a naturally dangerous breed and trained to bite.

Tommy Vu, one of Montoya’s lawyers, said his client wants the church and the dog owner held accountable.

“He suffered serious injuries. He has a lot of medical bills to pay. And the worst part of the whole thing is that he has a newborn baby that he can barely take care of,” Vu said.

In a court document, the church said Montoya was aware of the risks that day.

In the court documents, the church also invoked the “veterinarian rule” in its defense.

In this case, a person who works with dogs knows that there is a risk of being bitten.

Steve Cruz, who said he is a member of the church’s board of directors, told ABC 10 that the International Christian Center’s attorney told him and others not to comment.

“Thank you and God bless you,” Cruz said.

Calls and emails to the church’s lawyer and the other defendants were not answered.

Montoya had initially demanded $40,000 before filing the lawsuit.

Montoya’s lawyers said all sides are currently negotiating a possible settlement.