Island police say they are not seeking charges after an alleged dog stabbing earlier this week.

Tisbury police said they responded to the power line trails behind the department of public works building on Wednesday morning after the owner of an Australian shepherd said his dog had been stabbed with a knife by another dog walker.

According to a statement from Tisbury police on Friday, a man was walking his Australian shepherd off-leash, when he came upon another man walking a pit bull. The shepherd owner told police that the two dogs were interacting with one another before the pit bull owner stabbed his dog and ran off, police said.

In a social media post on Friday, MacAleer Schilcher, a Tisbury resident running for select board, said his dog Fox was the Australian shepherd.

Police did not identify either owner in their press statement.

Officers later found the pit bull owner at his apartment and he said the off-leash shepherd attacked his dog, according to the statement.

The man armed himself with a knife to protect the pit bull from the shepherd, which was allegedly biting the pit bull’s head, police said.

At one point, the shepherd lunged at the man’s hand that was holding the knife, and the pit bull owner told police that it cut the shepherd’s snout. The shepherd owner then allegedly started yelling and threatened the other man with a rock, police said.

The pit bull owner left the area. Officers said they could see bite marks on the pit bull’s head, though medical attention didn’t appear to be needed.

Mr. Schilcher, in an interview with the Gazette Friday, said he contested the police narrative and argued Fox was not out of control. He said an encounter did happen, but Fox was being submissive.

“What happened was very counter to what came out,” he said.

Mr. Schilcher said he met with police in-person on Friday and wished they had waited to issue a press release until after he had time to hand over a written statement.

Fox was on the mend Friday after a visit to a veterinarian and has to wear a cone for two weeks, according to Mr. Schilcher.

Police said they were not seeking charges at the recommendation of the Cape and Island District Attorney’s Office.

“Based on information that we have, and with the recommendation of our local Assistant District Attorney, there are no criminal charges being sought at this time,” police wrote. “We understand the emotions associated with a type of call like this, especially based on the initial reports, but we must utilize all the information we have available to us at this time to make an objective decision.”