Steve Dailey lives on Green Street in Uptown Harrisburg. He told abc27 he was on N. 3rd Street with his dog 'Beddy' when he spotted a large female pit bull standing on a corner.
He said it was clear the dog had spotted Beddy, and within seconds the animal pulled away from her owner and jumped on Beddy's back. That's when Dailey took action.
"I just somehow miraculously took my dog and with all my force just grabbed her and pulled her up into the air, and at the last second the pit bull got the tail end of my dog," he said.
Beddy sustained puncture wounds to her tail and buttocks, but is expected to recover.
Dailey said the experience was traumatic, especially because it's not his first run-in with pit bulls. Four years ago, a pit bull got loose from its owner and killed Dailey's cat.
"It came into my driveway and just grabbed a hold of my cat and ended her life," he said.
Animal advocates insist pit bulls can be very loving animals, but get a bad reputation when they fall under bad ownership.
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| Well, goodness, collies used to be very popular in the 1950s when "Lassie" was on TV. So, of course, there were TONS of Collie maulings on children and animals! |
Patti Hippler of the Central Pennsylvania Animal Alliance said pit bulls are in the news a lot these days, much like other breeds have been in years past. She said it's always important to know the type of dog before you commit to owning.
"Behavior is not breed-specific," she said. "It is partially shaped by the environment the dog is raised in."
[Please, Ms. Hippler, explain to us why there are so many "attacked by their own pit bulls" stories. How many "attcked by their own Whippets" stories we've read this year? Let's keep pretending it's these monstrous owners who beat and abuse these dogs and "make" them mean rather than accepting and dealing with the fact that they're inherently aggressive.]
In this case, Dailey said the owner's reaction to his incident is a red flag.
"She was going to hit her and I told her it wasn't the dog's fault, it was her fault," he said.
The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area told abc27 it typically takes in 200-300 pit bulls each year.
That number is now being capped to approximately 150, but the Humane Society, along with CPAA, offers free spay-neuter for city residents with pit bulls.
