TEXAS -- Bandaged and bruised, Caroline Dulfer, 51, sat on her living room chair clutching her 6-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Piper. Both were attacked by a pit bull while out on a late-night walk on East Oak Ridge Drive in Marble Falls on Jan. 29.
Piper's right hind leg and back were shredded and are now stitched up. She had to undergo hours of emergency surgery at an area vet following the attack.
"The dog just took her in his mouth and shook her like a ragdoll," said Dulfer, as tears welled up in her eyes. "I just couldn't protect her."
She says the police response was too slow and the owner won't be punished harshly enough.
Dulfer said she was taking her usual five-mile hike near Mormon Mill Road when a pit bull charged her. She said she tried to keep the dog away from Piper but couldn't.
While trying to save her dog, Dulfer said she was knocked to the ground. Disoriented and bleeding, Dulfer said the pit bull then turned on her and began biting.
"I was screaming for my life. I thought this was it for me and her," Dulfer explained.
Dulfer said the dog's owner ran out of the home and intervened by kicking the pit bull away. The pit bull's owner then drove Dulfer back to her home about two miles away.
Once at home, Dulfer called police and then rushed Piper to the vet. Piper immediately underwent surgery to save her leg and repair her shredded back muscles.
Dulfer said even though waiting to hear if her dog would survive was agonizing, what made matters worse was what she called "inept" police work.
"They didn't care. When I called dispatch, they asked me why I needed an officer to come out," Dulfer said.
Animal control officers were called out, but Marble Falls police Capt. Robert Sooter acknowledged the department should have taken possession of the dog immediately following the incident. The dog was not picked up until seven days later.
"We did do an in-home quarantine to make sure the dog did not have rabies," Sooter said in a telephone interview. "The dog is up-to-date on its shots."
Sooter said the dog's owner was also cited for not having a leash on the dog and letting it run stray. Under municipal code , it is illegal to have a dog off leash within city limits. The pit bull was not in a leash-free zone. The owner will have to appear in court and could face up to a maximum fine of $200.
The dog will be returned to the owner once she pays the impound fee, Sooter said.
"This dog has never been a problem before," Sooter said.
The pit bull will not be euthanized because under municipal code, the dog did not technically attack a human, even though it bit Dulfer.
"Dogs bite. That is what they do. The dog's owner intervened and got bit. I wish I could change the law but that is the law," Sooter explained.
Attempts to reach the owner on Monday were unsuccessful.
Dulfer said she is happy her dog is alive and just hopes her personality does not change.
"She is such a sweet dog," Dulfer said.
Dulfer is now calling for the officers in charge of this case to be reprimanded for not taking quicker action.
Medical care for both Piper and Dulfer is more than $2,000, Dulfer said.
(KXAN - Feb 7, 2011)
