CALIFORNIA -- An off-leash pit bull’s owner might be more of an animal than her pet.
After the woman’s dog mauled another dog, she reportedly lied about her identity and paying for veterinary expenses.
The incident happened about 3:25 p.m. Monday in the 3100 block of San Bruno Avenue, police said.
A woman was walking her dog when a pit bull suddenly appeared and bit the other dog on its back before dragging it into bushes and mauling it. The pit bull was off-leash.
The pit bull’s owner came out of a nearby house and gained control of the dog, police said.
Meanwhile, the other woman’s dog was cowering under a truck.
A witness helped the victim by wrapping the injured dog in a jacket, police said. At the vet, the dog had to be euthanized due to its injuries.
The pit bull’s owner said she would take care of the vet bill and provided the victim with her contact information, which turned out to be false, police said.
Police returned to the scene, but were unable to locate the owner. The witness who had helped the victim told police the suspect’s true identity, but she had not been located as of Thursday.
This is the latest incident to draw attention to problems with off-leash dogs.
In February, a 12-pound poodle was mauled by a much larger off-leash dog in Huntington Park in Nob Hill. In January, an unneutered pit bull killed a Yorkshire terrier in front of its owner while also off-leash.
Pacifica police had to shoot a pit bull in March — the second time in seven months — after the dog stormed into a home and attacked a Corgi, which survived.
And in August 2011, a pit bull attacked and killed its owner, a 32-year-old pregnant woman.
(San Francisco Examiner - May 31, 2012)
