"Something needs to be done sooner than later. A leash law is not enough. I've seen small kids in the neighborhood walking these dogs, or I should say, the dogs walking them," she said. "If I thought I was going to die, a child never would have survived."
O'Hara was injured one week ago today when two dogs attacked her near her home on Grandview West. Bystanders held off the dog until emergency workers could arrived.
O'Hara was hospitalized suffering from bite, gash and puncture wounds. Animal control officers picked up the dogs, which were later destroyed. The animals' owner was cited.
O'Hara said Tuesday that she wanted to take the time to personally thank those who helped her through the ordeal.
"There's not enough thank yous in this world to Gwynne Willis and her two friends, and Tom (bystanders) who saved my life ... from the attack of two pit bulls on my daily walk. To this day I can't believe I'm alive," O'Hara said.
O'Hara said she has regularly attended city council meetings since the 1970s. After she spoke, Mayor Glenn Barham gave O'Hara a card from the city council.
"I was pretty devastated to learn that it was someone that I knew, and saw on a regular basis," Barham said. "I learned about it late Wednesday night, and I called her Thursday evening."
Barham noted that breed specific laws cannot be passed in the state of Texas, so O'Hara plans to take her case to the state level.
"It's all going to Gov. (Rick) Perry next. I'm going to fight like hell to get something done. If I could get them banned in all of Texas, I would," O'Hara said.
She said she understands Barham and the city councilors have their hands tied.
O'Hara described her experience as a nightmare, and doesn't want to see the same thing happen to anyone else, especially a child.
"The more I hit them, the more I stabbed at them, the more they came after me. I will never walk in this neighborhood again — ever," she said.
(Times Record News - February 22, 2012)
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