NEW YORK -- A Long Island neighborhood was on the lookout for a vicious dog Friday night after a woman was attacked.
She received 15 stitches to her bandaged foot and had bite marks on her shoulder and hip, painful reminders of a frightening dog attack Valerie DeMasi said she would rather forget.
She received 15 stitches to her bandaged foot and had bite marks on her shoulder and hip, painful reminders of a frightening dog attack Valerie DeMasi said she would rather forget.
“I was just screaming, and I seen my foot and I did see the blood and I probably didn’t know that he bit me on my side,” DeMasi told CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez.
DeMasi said she was picking up her daughter at Jules DeLeon’s home on Portside Drive in Holbrook when a large dog that appeared to be a pit bull pounced on her in the driveway.
She said the dog’s owner, who was standing nearby, did nothing.
“It absolutely is appalling that he didn’t even take the time, the compassion, the responsibility of taking care of the situation, getting his dog off of me and asking me if I was alright,” DeMasi said.
DeLeon saw the dog tearing into DeMasi’s body and ran outside, while children witnessed the attack from inside the house.
“We were by the window and it was very scary we’d never seen that before,” Maia DeLeon said.
“I was terrified. I didn’t act terrified. I acted as aggressive and as angry as I could, yelling as loud as I could, swinging that stick in the air just to scare him off,” Jules DeLeon added.
“I can only assume it was the owner, standing there apologizing to me, saying ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’”
Jules DeLeon said he helped DeMasi into the house and called 911. When he went back outside the dog and its owner were gone.
Police spent Friday night going door to door in the neighborhood searching for the dog. DeMasi and many who live in the area said they were worried the dog would return and attack again.
“I’m scared about the dog attacking other kids. I just want to get the dog off the street,” Christina DeMasi said.
Valerie DeMasi said she is hoping the dog owner will give the neighborhood peace of mind and come forward.
DeMasi started rabies injections Friday night because authorities said they didn’t don’t know if the dog was rabid.
(CBSNewYork - June 1, 2012)
