U.S. man attacked, killed by Rottweiler he had adopted hours earlier

JACKSON, Tenn. -- Authorities say a Tennessee man was killed by a Rottweiler that he had adopted just hours earlier.

Multiple news organizations report 57-year-old Anthony Riggs's wife called deputies Thursday afternoon upon returning home and finding her husband unresponsive on the floor.

Sheriff's deputies shot the 5-year-old dog after it ran out of the house.

The Madison County Sheriff's Office says Riggs had adopted the Rottweiler earlier that morning from Jackson-Madison County Rabies Control, the county-run animal control facility.

Jackson-Madison County Regional Health Department Director Kim Tedford said the dog had been a stray, and was picked up five days before being adopted. Tedford said the dog will be autopsied. She said it showed no signs of aggression while at Rabies Control.

Jackson is about 90 miles northeast of Memphis.