Stanley County sheriff's deputies shot and killed a pit bull after it attacked two people in Fort Pierre.

Sheriff Brad Rathbun says it happened Monday at a home where a family was watching the dog for someone else.

The pit bull apparently broke loose from a chain and chased some children.

A 7-year-old girl was attacked, and the dog also turned on the girl's 58-year-old grandmother when she tried to help.

Rathbun says the two were bitten several times and were taken to the hospital. Rathbun said the the 7-year-old girl was bitten in the chest area and finger and that the grandmother was bitten on the thigh and chin.

The sheriff says deputies shot the dog when it threatened them. The dog's body will be tested for rabies.

Authorities think the girl was attacked first and that her grandmother tried to protect her and other children who were there.

The attack occurred one week before the Fort Pierre City Council is scheduled to consider an ordinance governing vicious dogs. The new rule would declare a dog vicious if it attacks a human on public property or attacks a human on private property if that person has the right to be there. The dog then would be euthanized unless declared innocent through an owner's appeal.

Another proposed ordinance would ban specific breeds of dogs, including pit bulls.