"They were coming for the kids," she said.
In an interview on the deck where her dog, Dolly Parton, was killed, French yesterday vividly described the attack that could result in the pit bulls being put down, a decision their owner says he would fight.
French and neighbors say the dogs frequently roam free, contradicting the claims of their caretaker, who said their attack Tuesday happened only because they escaped from their cages when he tried to give them water.
French and her sister, Donna Saulnier, share a home on Safford Street in Ipswich. Tuesdays are play dates for French's granddaughter Samantha, 8, and Saulnier's granddaughter Briana, 6.
"I screamed, 'Get the kids in the house ... pit bulls,'" Saulnier recalled yesterday. The two women herded the girls to safety, and Saulnier scooped up the family's 12-year-old Welsh corgi-cocker spaniel mix.
The dog had been sound asleep and was leashed to the deck. Saulnier was trying to get the leash off when one of the pit bulls leapt up and tore the little dog from her arms, drove it to the deck and ripped its throat out.
"She was killed instantly," French said. "She never knew what hit her."
The other pit bull had the corgi by its hind legs, and the two were trying to rip the dog in half, French said.
"That's something you never, ever want to see," Saulnier said.
Both of the girls witnessed the attack from inside the house.
French tried to intercede and grabbed a club to beat the attacking dog, but what happened then frightened her into inaction.
"He (the pit bull) looked up at me, his face was covered in blood, and he bared his teeth at me and growled," French said. "I was too scared to hit him."
As traumatizing as the attack was, the sisters agree it could have been worse. They're convinced the pit bulls did not initially target Dolly. She hadn't been barking and in fact had been sleeping for more than an hour.
"There's no way they could see her from over there," French said. "No one will ever convince me they weren't coming to rip those kids apart," and Dolly was just unlucky enough to be out on the deck. "They wanted to kill something."
After killing Dolly, the pit bull picked her up in his mouth and carried her back across the street. He stood over the dead animal, blood dripping from his face, daring anyone to take the dog from him, French said.
Ipswich Animal Control Officer Matt Antczak arrived at the scene and immediately called for police backup, fearing the dogs might have to be shot. However, he was able to use a long pole with a noose on the end of it to finally wrestle both dogs into his truck.
"They don't pay him enough money," French said.
Out of control
The pit bulls, Sonny B, 7 years old, and Nemesis, 8 months, are owned by Michael Stelline Jr. of Beverly. He gave the dogs to his former employer, Bob Carroll, on Tuesday so he could attend his great-grandmother's funeral. He blamed Carroll yesterday for the entire incident.
Carroll said Wednesday the dogs bolted from a kennel when he opened the door to give them water. But Stelline said Carroll was explicitly told not to let the dogs out of their crates under any circumstance and had actually opened the door to let them out to be chained to a run.
"He should have listened to what I told him," Stelline, 18, said. "None of this would have happened."
Stelline said neither of his dogs had ever been involved in an attack before.
According to witnesses, Carroll had actually allowed the dogs to run free all day. Butch Taves, who owns an auto repair shop in the same building as Carroll, told police Tuesday he had seen the dogs several times that morning. Amber Hammett, who works in a company located above Carroll's The Trailer Connection, said she saw the dogs roaming, as well.
What's more, Hammett said Stelline had the dogs over several times in the past week and a half, and she never saw them on a leash.
Stelline denied the dogs were ever at Carroll's shop without a leash, but Hammett said she became very concerned about the free-ranging dogs because she has a 4-year-old she sometimes brings to work.
A former pit bull owner herself, she has strong opinions about the breed.
"They're very aggressive, dangerous dogs," Hammett said. "They have to be leashed at all times."
Carroll claims that he chased after the dogs as soon as they escaped, but Hammett said he was working inside his shop and didn't even know what was going on until someone ran in and told him.
Saulnier and French also contradicted Carroll's claim he was right behind the dogs. While the attack was underway, Saulnier ran into the street to try to get Carroll's attention.
"I screamed, 'Bob! Your dogs are killing my sister's dog!' at least five times," Saulnier said.
"He was not right behind those two pit bulls," French said.
Carroll said yesterday he thought one of the dogs ran behind his shop after escaping, and he followed in that direction before being called to the scene of the attack.
"I did everything I could to help that dog," Carroll said.
Crime and punishment
The pit bulls will remain caged and in Antczak's custody until he determines their fate. He could order the dogs euthanized, and if he does, Stelline said he'll appeal the decision.
Asked if he had any concern the dogs might stage another attack someday, Stelline was adamant.
"No. They're under my control whenever they're with me and when I leave them, they're in their cages." He repeated that as far as he is concerned, Carroll has sole responsibility for the tragedy.
French and Saulnier plan to insist the dogs be put down.
"These two dogs are no good," French said.
A hearing before the town's selectmen is tentatively scheduled July 23.
Dolly was buried behind a shed in her backyard under a small pile of dirt, a flower | now wilting | placed atop it by Saulnier's granddaughter.
Both little girls are still shaken. French said her granddaughter, Samantha, is afraid to come back to visit and, when she does, doesn't want to go outside.
"She told her dad she had a dream that the bad killer dog was coming to kill her just like he killed Dolly," French said.
Stelline could be charged with violating a town bylaw that punishes owners whose dogs kill either a deer or a domestic animal. There is a $100 fine for the offense. Carroll has already been charged with violating the town's leash law and will have to pay a $50 fine.
That's hardly punishment enough for French.
"He should be charged with child endangerment," she said.
There was some consolation for French yesterday.
Most Tuesdays, she babysits her 10-month-old granddaughter. She would have been in a bassinet at the foot of the steps on the deck, French said.
"We could never have gotten to her in time."
(Salem News - July 13, 2007)
