Rocky Pizii said they want to get the word out about what happened to their dog so people are aware the dog that attacked their 3-year-old Chihuahua is still out there, as well as other large dogs that can’t be controlled by their owners.
“I just want people to know that there is an instance that happened here and they need to be cautious about their dogs,” he said.
Pizii said he and his wife Yolanda were walking their daughter’s dog Frankie about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday in their neighborhood northwest of 19th and Northern avenues when the attack happened.
They were walking west on Butler Road near 23rd Avenue when they saw a woman walking east with her dog, which he described as an approximately 50-pound, light brown Pit Bull, possibly a mix. Pizii moved Frankie to the far side of his body and shortened the leash to keep him away from the other dog.
As they passed, both dogs barked at each other, “as they do,” and then the other dog jumped out of its owners hands and attacked Frankie, grabbing him and dragging him into the street, he said.
“The dog had no qualms, he just attacked viciously,” Pizii said. “He was shaking him like a little rag doll.”
The dog’s owner had tried to grab her dog but fell down, he said. Pizii jumped on the dog in the middle of the street and struggled with it, trying to get it to release Frankie. He finally freed him from the dog’s jaws only for it to grab him again.
Cars were stopped in the street as the struggle continued and a bicyclist stopped to help pry the dog’s jaws off Frankie’s neck, Pizii said.
Once they finally were able to free him, he and his wife rushed home and took him to a nearby 24-hour veterinarian where he was treated and sent home.
The dog had cuts all over his body, a hairline fracture in his pelvic area and a deep cut in his shoulder that had to be drained of fluids to prevent infection, Pizii said. At home, the dog was “out of it,” wouldn’t eat and couldn’t keep down water. He stopped breathing the next night, on Thanksgiving. They took him to the veterinarian but he died.
“This has been the weekend from hell,” Pizii said. “He was such a big part of our life in his three short years.”
Frankie had been their 33-year-old daughter’s therapy dog since he was a puppy and had been crucial to her dealing with her depression issues, Pizii said.
He said she has not been doing well since the dog’s death and barely has gotten out of bed.
“He basically saved her life,” Pizii said. “They did everything together. He was really her foundation. He just added to her life and gave her some responsibility and someone to live for and someone to look after.”
He said the attack and Frankie’s resulting death makes them angry because it happened in their own neighborhood where they always took him for walks and all the neighbors knew him.
Pizii said they reported the attack to Maricopa County Animal Care and Control but because they didn’t know the address where the dog lives they had to report it as a stray or at large in the area.
He said they want to get the word out about what happened to Frankie so neighbors know to be aware the dog is out there, as well as other similar dogs that can’t be controlled by their owners, so they can protect their own pets.
He also would like to find the dog’s owner.
“I would like her to know that her dog killed our dog,” Pizii said. “I need her to know that, the impact she had on our lives.”
Pizii asked anyone who knows anything about the dog to call Maricopa County Animal Care and Control or him at 602-686-0203.
(azcentral.com - Nov 27, 2012)
