It was one of their favorite activities, and among the things she’ll miss most about her pooch.
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| In the doorway of her Harrisburg home, Betsy Davenny holds toys belonging to her wirehaired dachshund, Hollywood, which was torn to pieces by a pit bull on Wednesday. |
Hollywood was mauled to death Wednesday morning by two pit bulls who got into Davenny’s fenced-in back yard at her home in the 1900 block of Manada Street in Harrisburg while she and her son, Scott, were at the grocery store. One of the pit bulls was removed by an animal control officer; the other remains on the loose.
Veterinarians tried to save Hollywood but the brown-haired dog died at Derry Hospital shortly after she was attacked between 8 and 9 a.m. Davenny pet her as she slipped away.
“I told her, ‘mommy loves you,’” Davenny said, her voice cracking. “I loved her so much. She was my pride and joy.”
At home, Davenny can’t escape evidence of the gruesome attack. Blood was spattered on the outside metal doors leading to her basement and bloody paw prints were soaked into her beige carpet. At some point during the mauling, Hollywood must have broke free and scampered through the dog door in Davenny’s back door and made it to the living room before collapsing.
The pit bulls couldn’t make it inside. Another one of Davenny’s dogs, a Labrador-corgi mix named Bo, was home at the time but was not hurt.
Davenny adopted Hollywood about a year ago after her owner, a neighbor, died. Bo and Hollywood became inseparable. They would play ball together and sit together at the window watching people walk by, Davenny said.
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| Bloody paw prints are visible on the cellar doors of Betsy Davenny's home in Harrisburg. |
The attack comes about two months after city police shot and killed two pit bulls that had threatened children and killed a cat. The Central Pennsylvania Animal Alliance accused officials of having the dogs killed because Harrisburg’s contract with the Humane Society of Harrisburg Area Inc. had expired, a claim the city denied.
Humane Society officials said in April the city owes it $14,000, but city spokesman Robert Philbin said this week the city has paid in full for its $60,000-per-year contract with the organization.
The Humane Society’s Swatara Township offices are closed on Wednesday, and a message left there was not returned. It estimated it removes 177 pit bulls from the city each year.
Harrisburg Police Chief Pierre Ritter, meanwhile, said the city is not having pit bull problems anymore.
Davenny’s neighbors disagree. They worry about the loose pit bull and the potential for it to hurt or kill another animal or a small child.
“Every time I think about it I cry,” said Linda Stuck, who lives across the street. “It’s devastating because these dogs were in their own fenced-in yard.”
The pit bills had no tags and were not microchipped. Officials are trying to find the owners.
Amy Kruleski was sitting on her porch across the street with her two children when she heard violent barking coming from Davenny’s yard.
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| Betsy Davenny walks past blood on the back steps of her Manada Street house in Harrisburg on Wednesday, June 1, following the killing of her wirehaired Dachshund, Hollywood earlier in the day by two pit bulls. |
She didn’t hesitate. She put her kids inside and grabbed a shovel from the back. She raced over to her neighbor’s yard where she saw Hollywood being ripped apart.
Kruleski began swinging the shovel at the pit bulls, but missed. By that time, it was too late.
Kruleski, who owns a pit bull, said she believes these dogs were trained to attack.
“It was horrific — like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” she said. “It’s all about breeding them right and treating them right. This was ridiculous. It could have been a kid.”
(Patriot-News - June 1, 2011)
Update to Story:
