About 7 a.m. Saturday, 41-year-old Craig Higgins took his Alaskan Malamute, Bella, to Aptos Junior High School for their usual romp, said his Higgins' wife, Priscilla Higgins
As Craig Higgins arrived with his dog inside the school's track, three pit bulls ran at Bella and attacked it, said Todd Stosuy, field services manager for the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.
Craig tried to separate the dogs and his hands and legs were bitten and bloodied by the dogs.
The pit bulls' owner, who wore a flannel shirt and had a "horseshoe" moustache, was several hundred yards away, Priscilla Higgins said. The two men eventually separated the dogs and both men were injured.
After they separated the dogs, the pit bulls' owner then told Craig to go to the opposite side of a fence so his pit bulls would not see him and not go after him, Priscilla Higgins said.
The pit bulls' owner, who was described as a white man in his late 40s or early 50s, then took his three dogs to a silver sport-utility vehicle in a parking lot, Stosuy said. Craig heard the SUV's engine start and he thought the man would return to apologize and survey the damage.
Instead, the man left, Stosuy said.
"He ran and left my husband there bleeding," Priscilla Higgins said.
Craig, who was wearing shorts, had more than 20 wounds on his legs and hands that could not be sewn with stitches because doctors said there is a risk of internal infection with dog bites. He went to a Kaiser hospital in San Jose on Saturday and went to another Santa Clara County hospital several times this week for anti-rabies injections.
It is unclear if the pit bulls were vaccinated, and that is one reason why county animal authorities want to talk to the pit bulls' owner. The pit bulls were described as standard size of 35 to 50 pounds, Stosuy said.
They were red and white, white and tan, and blue gray, he said.
"We're interested in finding out the current vaccination status of the dogs," Stosuy said.
Stosuy said he also wanted to know if the dogs had been in any other trouble.
"The guy needs to be responsible," Priscilla Higgins said.
She added that her husband had missed work at a hardwood-flooring company since the attack and they had to foot the medical bills.
Stosuy said it is possible that the pit bulls' owner could be held liable in a civil lawsuit.
Stosuy said it was the first reported dog attack at the junior high school, where dogs are supposed to be leashed.
"All dogs have to be on leash in the county unless they're at a designated off-leash property," Stosuy said. He said animal services officers planned to ramp up dog leash enforcement with a new program slated to start in January 2012.
Priscilla Higgins said she wished her husband got a better description of the suspect -- yet she was grateful that he protected Bella.
Craig "was so fixated on saving the dog that he was not focusing on him," Priscilla Higgins said.
There did not appear to be anyone else in the park at the time of the attack, she said.
County Animal Shelter officials asked anyone with information to call 454-7303 ext. 1.
(The Sentinel - Sept 8, 2011)
