OHIO -- A search was under way Monday for one of two pit bulls that attacked a Pataskala man and his dog during the weekend.
The Saturday attack left the man with bite and claw marks on both arms. The man's dog also was injured during the attack.
Pataskala police reported the attack occurred between 8:45 and 9 p.m.
James Scarberry, 54, of 13785 Cleveland Road, let his dog outside in his front yard when two pit bulls, one brown and one black and white, came into his yard, according to a police report.
The pit bulls attacked Scarberry's dog, and when he attempted to intervene, he was attacked by one of the pit bulls, according to the report.
"My two sons came out and one had a broom, and he was hitting him with a broom and he still wouldn't turn (our dog) loose," Scarberry told 10TV.
Pataskala police Lt. Michael Boals said Licking County Animal Control and police responded to the scene. They caught the black and white pit bull but could not catch the brown one.
"Animal control set a live trap, but they haven't caught (the second one) yet," Boals said Monday.
Police do not know if the dogs have an owner, Boals added.
There were no tags on the pit bull police and animal control captured, and Boals said the dogs appeared to have walked down the railroad tracks that run parallel to Cleveland Road.
"Who knows where they came from," said Boals, adding the dogs could have walked from elsewhere in the city, if not nearby Columbus.
Pataskala has an ordinance governing dogs and other animals running at large. It requires the owners of dogs and other animals to keep their animals under control, whether by leash, tether or fence, so as to prevent escape. It also mandates people not let their animals enter another person's property.
Whoever violates the ordinance could be found guilty of a minor misdemeanor on the first offense. If the animals harms someone or another animal, a violator could be found guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor.
Boals said Monday police cannot charge someone in connection with Saturday's attack if they cannot locate the owner of the two pit bulls.
Scarberry could not be reached Monday for further comment on the attack. He did not seek immediate medical treatment after the attack, according to the police report.
Complaints regarding people letting their dogs run loose inside the parks recently prompted the city's parks and recreation advisory board to ask the council to make it illegal for people to bring a dog into a city park without a leash.
That debate is ongoing.
Boals on Monday said police have not received any other calls regarding the pit bulls involved in Saturday's attacks.
(Newark Advocate - Oct 18, 2011)
