When Diana Wragge talks about her dead pit bull, Drama, she describes a dog with a loud bark and gentle demeanor.

Others, however, say Drama was a large, fierce dog who scared them.

Lawrence Police shot and killed Drama on Saturday.

“The dog was at large, and he was very aggressive,” said Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society.

“He’s never been aggressive toward anyone,” Wragge countered.

Shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday officers were sent to the 1300 block of Connecticut to investigate a report of an aggressive pit bull, Sgt. Mike Pattrick said. An animal control officer also was sent.

Grinstead said she was driving by and stopped to help.

Drama was outside Wragge’s house and charged at Grinstead and the animal control officer multiple times, Grinstead and police said. A police officer shot the dog with a shotgun.

A second pit bull belonging to Wragge also was out, but after the shooting, it retreated through a dog-entry hole cut into the back door of Wragge’s house.

Wragge said she had left for work a few minutes before the incident occurred.

Officers had responded to the area before about complaints concerning the dog, Wragge said. She said her dog had escaped the house by jumping up and knocking open a small bolt on the front door. That lock, however, had been replaced with a better one just the day before Drama was killed.

Both dogs got away and were not caught.

Wragge said she thought authorities had a grudge against her because of their repeated calls to the address about the dogs and intentionally broke a piece of wood she had put in place over the entrance on the back door.

“There’s no way that dog could have broken that board and got out on its own,” she said.

Police denied Wragge’s allegation. A board was fastened to the outside of the entry after the shooting to keep the second dog from coming back out, Pattrick said.

Justin Podramides, who lives across the street from Wragge, said he saw the shooting incident. He said the animal control officer kept poking a stick at Drama and was provoking it. He said he didn’t see the dog charge the officers.

“I don’t think the dog has caused any problems,” Podramides said. “I’ve never seen it chase after people. It never left the yard.”

But Mark Inbody, who lives next door to Wragge, disagreed.

“It chased me up on my porch one night,” Inbody said. “I’ve seen the dog chase other people.”

Nevertheless, Wragge remained upset.

“All I had was my dogs and my kids,” she said.