Animal Welfare tells FOX23 they plan to issue tickets for 'harboring an un-neutered dog' and no licensing. It is not legal in the City of Tulsa to license an animal that has not been spayed or neutered.
They also say there had not been issues with that dog in the past.
One veteran Tulsa Police Captain calls it one of the most horrific dog attacks he’s seen in his 30-year career.
“If I hadn’t been there myself I wouldn’t believe that these injuries were caused by a dog,” said TPD Captain Steve Odom. “I certainly won’t forget about this.”
Tulsa police say two women ages 43 and 78 were ministering in the neighborhood near E. Pine and N. Lewis when they were mauled by a homeowner’s pit bull at 2027 North Lewis Place on Tuesday morning around 10:00 am.
Officers say a man who heard the women crying for help ended the attack by shooting the dog who police say weighed about 80 to 85 pounds.
“We just heard this blood curdling scream,” said Michael Harrell.
He works at Interstate Steel and jumped in his truck when he heard the women screaming for help.
The home was only a block away from his business.
"The dog was biting her at the corner of the house,” said Harrell.
So he grabbed his pistol and ran up to the fence.
"There was another lady sitting on the ground in the front, appeared to be unconscious, not alive or she would not move,” said Harrell.
“The dog literally looked at me and then went right back to biting her again. He kept changing from her face, to her foot, to her arm, to her foot, face to arm, then leg.”
He says the owner was in the yard and hysterical. She was armed with a baseball bat she used to try to stop her pit bull.
"She was down on her knees screaming and crying and just helpless, she was covered in blood,” said Harrell.
He says he went to the opening gate and shook it.
"Finally the dog just locked eyes with me and when it did it bolted straight for me at the gate,” said Harrell.
He says his concealed carry training kicked in and he made a quick decision.
"That's when I asked the lady, ‘is this your dog’ and she said ‘yes’ and I said ‘can I shoot it’ and she ‘yes," said Harrell.
He said the dog went down with one shot.
"Thank God he was there to do that or else we would have two dead victims," said Captain Odom.
Harrell says he is a former school teacher and he taught kids when they can help, not to freeze but do something.
"It was terrifying. What it was doing to those women were, you don't see it, you don't understand it in a horror movie. It's that kind of thing, to see their face. It was terrifying," said Harrell.
The mother of the one of the victim’s says her 43-year-old daughter was trying to help her friend who was being attacked by the dog who then attacked her daughter in the yard.
FOX23 News looked up Tulsa’s Animal Ordinances and found under Title 2 laws about dangerous dogs. In this case, it is still under investigation.
However, the laws state you need to register a dangerous dog and if not you must provide more than a warning sign, you must have an insurance policy. It’s unclear if the dog in this case was registered as a dangerous dog.
Dogs may not be declared dangerous if it causes harm because of a trespasser or abuse.
The mother of the 43-year-old woman says her daughter had surgery today and has a total of 60 stitches in her face, arms, neck, head and most of her leg. She says her daughter’s leg needs to be reconstructed and will have surgery again on Friday. She is on a breathing machine and barely conscience.
FOX23 News is being told the 78-year-old woman has severe facial injuries.
FOX23 called the City of Tulsa Animal Welfare to look into dog bite statistics by breed, they told us there is not accurate data on dog bites by breed. They told us they believe smaller dog breeds bite more often but are underreported by victims.
Yeah, because you put a band-aid on you boo-boo and you get on with life. Larger dogs send you to the hospital. Pit Bulls send you to the morgue.
Many larger breed bites are reported because state law requires doctors to report dog bites due to rabies.
VIDEO NEWS CLIP:
(KOKI - March 20, 2013)
