Monday, August 29, 2011

update to ``Dog Attack of Sunday, 8/28/2011``

Here is a follow-up to my email of last night (8/28/2011) concerning the attack by two (2) pitbulls from 126 Bryant Street, NW:


The point in mentioning the breed of the dogs was simply to give a heads-up to other residents, especially those with pets of their own. The primary attacking dog was black with some random white spots. The second pitbull was an almost equal mix of brown and white. He was party to the attack and is responsible for some wounds.

I want to reiterate something for all to understand. This was not simply a matter of the primary black pitbull biting one of the dogs I was walking repeatedly. This black pitbull clamped on with the full force of his canine teeth and WOULD NOT let go. He wanted to break the neck of and kill the dog I was walking. My only recourse, as I had 2 dog
leashes in my left hand, was to smash the black pitbull in the head with my right arm repeatedly to try to save the life of the smaller dog in my care.

Afterwards, I called the police and filed a report. Further charges are being pursued against the owner of these animals and a case is pending. I also spoke with someone at DC Animal Control today. I was told that the Department of Health makes decisions on whether animals can remain in a particular home. I plan to reach out to this department tomorrow (Tue, 8/30/2011) to find out what can be done to ensure both of these pitbulls are removed permanently from 126 Bryant Street, NW. I am an animal lover myself, having grown up with dogs. But after what happened on Sunday, I am leaning toward having these animals put down rather than risk the chance of them savagely attacking any other pets or persons.

I took off work today to see a doctor about my own injuries and to be with the healing dog. He has 11 or 12 staples as a result of the savage nature of the attack. It breaks my heart to think that if the timing had been different, perhaps none of this would have happened. He has always been a dynamic and energetic dog. Right now, he is afraid to walk beyond my friend`s house and won`t even step on the grass. Fortunately, my friend has a little bit of a backyard in which he can wander. But it took several tries before he was comfortable stepping on the grass out there.

One of my fingers was punctured from both sides. My doctor said it is infected and may get worse. I noticed another bite on my left knee after cleaning off the remaining blood. I am now on a 10-day antibiotic treatment. My right arm, directly above the wrist, suffered a broken blood vessel under the skin as a result of my efforts to stop
the attack by the black pitbull. I am a member of a competitive sports club that practices daily at 5:30 a.m. I will not be able to take part for a minimum of one to two weeks due to the swelling and bruising on my arm.

My doctor said that the chance of rabies is remote, but that I could undergo treatment if I so choose. Unfortunately, my insurance will not cover the expense, which would be upwards of $1,000.00. For now I am holding off until the outcome of the 10-day quarantine initiated for all the animals involved. I foresee a future small claims court case against the owners/residents at 126 Bryant Street, NW. And with costs mounting fast, I am hoping that my doctor is right about the chances of me getting rabies.


I appreciate all the positive feedback and suggestions on the part of so many of my neighbors here in Bloomingdale. I will keep our community up-to-date with my efforts. I liked the idea of one blogger, Sarah, who asked ``Do we need to mobilize some voices to get them to act?``; them being DC Animal Control and/or the DC Department of Health. I am hoping that my efforts and those of the owner of the dogs I was caring for will be enough for now. I do appreciate the offer and, if the situation should change, may request assistance from Sarah and others in the greater Bloomingdale area.

Thank you to everyone!!!


4 comments:

David said...

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It sounds like a horrible situation that no one should ever have to deal with.

Thank you for the further description of the attacking dogs. I know exactly the dogs you are talking about and I encounter them regularly on my nightly walks but I have only seen them on leash. The large black dog is a male and the brown one is a female. I believe the male is not fixed, which makes him more likely to be aggressive, and I would assume the female is also intact. They should definitely be taken away from the owners ASAP.

As a responsible dog owner who happens to have two pit bulls I find this kind of thing infuriating. My dogs can also be animal aggressive at times so I go out of my way to make sure to avoid situations that can escalate, which is really not a lot of trouble. I always keep them on a leash or in the house, they receive enough exercise and I keep them away from situations where they may become agitated. What I hope people can understand is that a dog that is aggressive toward other dogs or animals is not necessarily aggressive toward people. This is especially true of the pit bull breed, which were bred for hundreds of years to embody the specific traits of animal aggression and people friendliness. But any dog who is allowed to run free and attack other dogs, regardless of the breed, should be taken away from the owner and the owner should be punished. It is exactly this type of irresponsible dog owner that perpetuates the negative stereo type of pit bulls and pit bull owners and it shouldn't be tolerated.

Kristian said...

Scott,

I was sent your entry by my new landlady as a warning (my husband and I just moved to the neighborhood) and I've avoided Bryant St. while walking my dog. This morning, my husband was walking our corgi mix down Adams St. (directly parallel to Bryant) when a black pitbull with white spots came out of the vicinity of the alley that runs between Adams and Bryant and threatened to charge. My husband was able to deter it and called the police. Sounds like this is the same animal, one month later. Do you know if any follow-up action was taken after your attack?

Ghillian Porter-Smith

Paul Kirk said...

I wanted to report seeing a dog that matches this dog's desciption that I just saw loose (Noon Sunday) just west of the intersection of Bryant and First, NW.

Dog was mostly black with a white paw and white on neck.

Dog was loose on the 100 block of Bryant. I followed it and it ran south down the eastern alley between Adams and Bryant. It then took a right in the alley heading west. When I caught up to it, an occupant of 145 Adams was holding the back door open and the dog trotted inside the back door of 145 Adams.

I was not a witness to the attack, but thought this dog matched the description. Also, the dog was wearing more than one collar.

Does anyone know whether this dog on Adams is kosher or not?

jbcarron said...

Any update on this situation would be greatly appreciated. I have seen this same dog wondering around the neighborhood a few times and it is most definitely living in 145 Adams street. In fact it has been living there ever since this story was first reported. Coincidence?

I keep a careful eye when walking Adams street because of this dog.