Iron County sheriff's deputies were in the Gold Springs camp area about five miles northwest of Modena, near the Nevada state line, about 5:30 p.m. Monday to question 47-year-old Nicholas Galanis, who had allegedly lied to them the day before about his identity, said Detective Sgt. Jody Edwards.

When confronted, Galanis allegedly jumped into his black Chevy Beretta and sped away. The officers chased him for about five minutes down the winding and bumpy Gold Springs Road before the car came to a sudden halt.

"The deputies could see the dog was getting tossed back and forth on the turns," Edwards said.

When the officers approached the car, they learned that the dog, which is medium-sized and part pit-bull, had bit its owner in the face.

"In fact, the dog bit off a piece of his nose and that's what ended the chase," said Edwards.

Galanis was treated at an area hospital for the wound and later booked into the Iron County jail on suspicion of giving false information to an officer, felony fleeing and possession of stolen property - officers recovered a laptop believed to have been stolen recently from a home in Murray, Edwards said.

The dog was taken to an animal shelter in Enoch.

Relatives of Galanis have expressed interest in retrieving the dog once the mandatory 10-day quarantine period has expired.

"If we had an opening in the department, I think I'd give him an application," said Edwards.

mwestley@sltrib.com