Owner puts down dogs involved in Neenah attack

WISCONSIN -- Two English bull terriers that attacked and injured a pet caretaker last month have been euthanized.

Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson declared the dogs — a female named Luna and a male named Bubba — as prohibited dangerous animals after the Aug. 17 attack at 1332 Meadow Lane. An investigating officer described the attack as “extremely vicious.”

Wilkinson has declared 12 dogs as dangerous animals since June 2012, when Neenah adopted an ordinance to tighten its control on pets, but Luna and Bubba were the first ones declared prohibited dangerous animals. The determination meant the dogs had to be euthanized or moved outside the city.

“This was in a completely different league as far as extent of injuries” to the victim, Wilkinson said. “She’s had all kinds of stitches and surgery. It’s a long recovery for her.”

Maria Baumann, owner of the bull terriers, appealed Wilkinson’s decision, setting the stage for a hearing before the Public Services and Safety Committee. Moments before the hearing, however, Baumann withdrew her appeal, saying the dogs had been euthanized.

City Attorney Jim Godlewski received a letter from a veterinarian Wednesday confirming the euthanasia of the dogs.

According to police reports, the victim was a 32-year-old Neenah woman who worked for Never Home Alone Pet Sitting. The woman was caring for the dogs when they attacked her in the backyard.

The woman screamed for help and hung onto a wooden fence until neighbors could pull her over the fence to safety.

She suffered severe bites and gashes to her legs and arms and underwent surgery at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah.

Witnesses said each dog chomped down on one of the woman’s legs. Police said the dogs and fence were covered with her blood.

Officer Craig Hoffer said in a police report that if the woman “would not have had a fence to hang onto and if she would have fallen on the ground, these two dogs could have very easily killed (her).”

Wilkinson praised the heroic efforts of neighbors who pulled the woman over the fence. He said one neighbor punched one of the dogs in the snout to get it to release its grip on the victim.

“That bravery certainly saved the victim from much worse harm, perhaps even death,” Wilkinson said.

(Appleton Post Crescent- Sept 13, 2013)

Earlier:

• Pet sitter undergoes surgery after two dogs attack