CALIFORNIA -- A neighborhood pit bull that allegedly bit a man and his wife in their East Chester Street driveway a week ago has been impounded, Long Beach police said on Friday.
The dog was picked up by animal control officers on Thursday and taken away, said Deputy Inspector Bruce Meyer.
“The dog was impounded because of the dog bite and for being unlicensed,” Meyer said.
Frida Vordermeier said she was in her driveway, pushing her 18-month-old daughter Hailey in a stroller and preparing to walk her English bulldog Maximillan when the pit bull allegedly pounced at 8 a.m. on Aug. 5.
The pit bull allegedly went after Maximillan as his leash was wrapped around the woman’s hand, she said. She said she was trying to protect her daughter when the pit bull bit the woman on her right hand.
“I turned around and the pit bull was right there,” she said. “I was horrified. I was very scared. I did everything I could to protect my daughter.”
The woman’s screams awoke her husband Fred who rushed to her aid, and when he interceded he was bitten him on the left hand, he said.
“When I reached them, my wife was screaming from the pain and the blood,” said Fred. “I came running out to try to get the pit bull away from my daughter and my wife and that’s when the dog attacked me.
“I realized that if I didn’t get the dog away from them, somebody would die.”
He said an employee of Surf Glass heard the woman’s screams and called 911. Police and an animal control officer arrived to bring the pit bull under control.
The husband and wife were treated for their wounds at Winthrop University Hospital, each receiving a tetanus shot and antibiotics to prevent possible infections, Fred said.
Days after the incident, Frida said she was afraid to leave her East Chester Street home because the dog was still in its owner’s possession.
“I’m afraid to go outside,” she said earlier this week. I’m emotionally destroyed. I hate having to feel this way because I can’t do what I love to do.”
“I guess we’re doing okay now, but my wife just won’t leave the house,” her husband added. “She’s a mess emotionally.”
Their toddler was not harmed. Maximillan was treated by a veterinarian for bite wounds to its legs and neck, Fred said.
The pit bull is usually kept in a cage in a neighbor’s backyard on East Chester and probably escaped, Fred said. The pit bull’s owner, who was not identified, was allegedly issued a summons following the incident, said a city source, who could not elaborate.
Frida said she still suffers from nightmares of the attack.
“I would never be able to forgive myself if something would have happened to my daughter,” she said.
Efforts to reach the owner of the pit bull were unsuccessful.
“He’s a friendly dog,” one neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said of the pit bull. “I was surprised the dog did that. He comes up to everyone in a friendly manner.”
(Long Beach Patch - August 12, 2011)
