A pack of four pit bulls had knocked him to the ground, and were biting into his arms and legs. The dogs had ripped his clothes to shreds and were trying to drag him into a wooded area near Cook Pond.
“They ripped me apart. They put holes in me, right down to the muscle. I tried to keep my face down to the ground so they wouldn’t get at my throat, but they were still going for it. They were biting the back of my neck,” said Rose, 54, of Fall River on Wednesday from his room at Rhode Island Hospital, where he has been treated since the attack Monday.
Rose’s body is covered in bruises, scratches, puncture wounds and stitches. Photos that a relative shared this week on Facebook show Rose’s arms and legs covered in gauze, and dozens of bite marks are still visible.
“They were literally eating me. They were literally taking chunks out of my body. It was grotesque,” Rose said.
According to the initial police investigation, the pit bulls were 'accidentally' released from an outdoor pen after a child who fed the dogs accidentally left the door open.
The dogs attacked two other people, a 70-year-old woman who was bitten on her forearm, and a 39-year-old woman who was walking with Rose and suffered superficial bite marks to her hands and arms, police said.
“It’s like they were hunting people,” said Rose, who said the four dogs were running around and “acting crazy” just before he was attacked.
While walking in the area of Howe and Crawford streets around 4 p.m. Monday, Rose said the dogs — one was brown and the others tan, black and brindle — “came out of nowhere” and surrounded him. Rose saw a stick on the ground, grabbed it and tried to ward off the dogs, but they still pounced.
“They just jumped on top of me and ripped me apart. I didn’t do anything to provoke them. All of a sudden, I had four dogs on me, one on each leg and arm, tearing into me,” said Rose, adding that the dogs would not let him off the ground.
“They just would not let me go. These were big dogs. They were relentless. I don’t know why they did that to me. I never thought dogs would be like that. They were like a pack of wild animals, looking to hurt somebody. It was like the stuff you see in the movies,” Rose said.
Rose’s friend, the 39-year-old woman who was also bitten, had a blanket that she tried to use to ward off the dogs. While he still being attacked, Rose said a man drove by in a pickup truck, stopped and honked his horn to try to scare off the dogs, though that did not stop them. The passer-by called 911, and it was not until an ambulance arrived with its sirens blaring that the dogs finally ran off.
“There’s something wrong with those dogs. They were so vicious. They should be put down, all four of them. No way these dogs should ever be allowed on the streets ever again,” said Rose, who is receiving rabies shots.
Fall River police officials said that animal control officers, assisted by the pit bulls’ owner, captured the dogs after they were seen running through the woods near the Reflek Corp. on Howe Street. Police said the incident is still under investigation.
Rose, who expects to be released from the hospital today, said he is already having nightmares and that he can never look at dogs the same way again.
Though in pain, and his body bearing the damage from the vicious attack, Rose said he was looking forward to returning home.
“I’m just happy to be alive,” he said.
