Escondido Pit Bull Attack

CALIFORNIA -- A man said he was badly bitten in an Escondido gated community by a pair of aggressive dogs, one of which animal control officials said has a history of biting, the North County Times reported.

Tom Atkinson, 56, said he was finishing a jog Tuesday morning on Rock View Glen in the Emerald Heights development when he noticed what looked like two loose pit-bull mix dogs growling at a neighbor and his leashed dog, according to the paper.

Atkinson said he joined the neighbor, and as the men walked on, the wandering dogs jumped at him. He said he fought off the dogs, and they ran away.

However, as he continued up the street, Atkinson said the dogs turned around and charged. He said the pair bit him several times, leaving him with one bad bite to the forearm that a doctor said will need stitches and another deep bite to the thigh.

An animal control officer responded and impounded one of the dogs, later releasing it back to the owner, who promised to keep it on a 10-day quarantine, the paper reported.

Man Describes Pit Bull Attack
"The black dog was going to come after me," the victim of a pit-bull attack said Wednesday. "And I stepped back, but then ..."

Escondido resident Tom Atkinson was jogging Tuesday morning in his quiet, gated neighborhood on Rock View Glen in the Emerald Heights development when the attack occurred. He said the two pit bulls threatened a neighbor's dog, then came after him, biting him on the arm, the hand and the thigh.

He said that one dog attacked first, then the other joined in.

"I was still trying to avoid this dog with kicks and slaps, but this one I was punching as much as I could," Atkinson said. "Didn't do much good."

Escondido Animal Control said that one of the dogs may have bitten another victim in the same area.

It was reported this morning that an animal control officer responded and impounded one of the dogs, later releasing it back to its owner, who promised to keep it on a 10-day quarantine. However, during the afternoon, animal control said the dogs had both been euthanized with the owner's permission.

(NBC San Diego - Feb 17, 2010)