Owner charged with animal cruelty in pit bull attack

NEW MEXICO -- An area family said two pit bulls tore up their dog, and when their teen daughter tried to save it, the dog bit her in the arm.

Benzi the dog’s injuries are hard to look at -- its backside had to be stitched back together and more sutures were needed on the neck.

 

 

Jennifer Alcala, 17, said two pit bulls ripped apart her dog in the family’s backyard.

She tried to save Benzi, and ended up getting bit in the arm.

“He didn’t deserve it,” she said.

Serena Alameda, a neighbor, watched the attack from her garden. She said it scared her so much she’s now carrying around an ice scraper to defend herself.

Alameda is angry it took more than a day for the dogs to be seized from her neighbor’s home.

Police acknowledge there was a delay. They said it took time to track down the dogs’ owners. In addition, Rio Rancho law states potentially dangerous animals can only be seized with a court order, or if the owners surrender them.

Authorities said the owners did eventually hand over both dogs. The owner is being charged with animal cruelty and having potentially dangerous and vicious dogs.

Police said the two pit bulls that attacked Benzi will be euthanized.

(KOAT - June 23, 2014)