Milford Fonza, 67, was out for his morning walk at about 4 a.m. on Monday when he encountered two pit bull dogs in the 1600 block of South Sunflower Avenue.
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| Members of a Los Angeles County Fire crew tend to the wounds of Milford Fonza, 67, of Glendora. Fonza was out for a morning walk on Monday when he was attacked and mauled by two pit bulls. A Glendora police officer halted the attack by ramming one dog with his car and shooting the other one. (Courtesy of Glendora Police) |
Fonza, a retired Compton fire chief, said he was heading home when the dogs came around a corner and faced him.
"When I walked up on them, they looked at me, I looked at them," Fonza said. "I knew they were going to attack."
Fonza said he tried to defend himself from the lunging dogs by hitting them with his walking stick, to no avail.
"I hit them with the stick and it broke," he said. "And it didn't even phase them."
One of the dogs bit him in the stomach and he fell to the ground.
"Both of them were on me then," he said.
Fonza said he struggled to get back to his feet but the dogs were relentless. He tried to escape by climbing a nearby wall, but couldn't because he had broken his arm.
After what Fonza said seemed like a "lifetime" but was probably two to three minutes, a Glendora police officer on routine patrol happened across the scene.
Acting quickly, Officer Matt Fenner rammed one dog with his car, seriously injuring it.
When the other dog approached Fenner, he shot it dead. The sound of the gunshot caused the dog injured by the car to flee the area.
"I knew then I was going to live," Fonza said. "This officer saved my life. These dogs were trying to kill me."
"I truly think death was imminent," added Glendora police Lt. Tim Staab.
The injured dog was later found at a nearby elementary school and taken to a veterinary clinic, where it died.
Though the dogs were not wearing tags, Staab said authorities were able to track down the owner, who was cooperative.
"He had a real good attitude," Staab said. "He was concerned about the victim. He was real sorrowful."
The owner may be cited in connection with the incident, but Staab said it did not appear he intentionally let the dogs roam free.
"The dogs just accidentally got out," Staab said. "The reason they attacked is not that they were trained to attack. They just got into that pack mentality."
Though Fonza suffered from bites to his face, arms, legs, torso and groin, as well as a broken arm, he is expected to recover.
"I am pretty sore today. I've got hurts and aches," Fonza said.
Fonza said it may be a couple months before he's fully healed, but he plans to continue his morning walks.
"I'll just carry a bigger stick," he said.
(Pasadena Star - Oct 11, 2011)
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