Owner could regain custody of 3 pit bulls that attacked neighbor

TEXAS -- A Katy man is on the mend after vicious mauling in his driveway, but he worries the three pit bulls that attacked him could be coming back to the neighborhood.

The attack happened back on November 23rd in the 2300 block of Gable Hollow Lane.

Nick Benner was walking out to his truck when he says the dogs charged over from his neighbor's garage. He recalls hearing a snarl and then being surrounded by the three dogs.

"Two of them sunk their teeth into me and the third was on the backs of them trying to find someplace," explained Nick Benner.

  

Benner says he hollered over and over, but the dogs were relentless.

"If it hadn't happened so fast, I probably would've been terrified, but it happened too fast for me to register," said Benner. "It was very scary. The gentleman who owns the home stood there as calmly as we are and watched the entire thing and never attempted to retrieve the dogs."

The homeowner he's referring to told KHOU 11 News he is also scared of the dogs. He admitted that he didn't rush to Benner's assistance out of fear that the pit bulls would turn on him.

He claimed the dogs belong to his nephew who eventually came outside and got the dogs to stop.

"Look at the size of me. If it had been some small woman or a kid that would've been attacked, it wouldn't have been a bite. They would've killed them," said Benner.

Benner thought he'd never see the dogs again after they were seized by Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office.

 

The dogs were turned over to Harris County Veterinary Public Health for quarantine.

The owner of the dogs now has a chance to get the dogs back.

A judge determined the dogs to be dangerous, which still gives the owner an opportunity to regain custody of the animals if he completes a strict set of guidelines.

That includes neutering the dogs, implanting each dog with a microchip, building a county regulated enclosure marked with dangerous dog sign and making each dog wear an orange collar labeled dangerous dog.

The owner would be required to keep each dog on a leash or in the enclosure at all times. He would also have to get a $100,000 liability insurance policy for each dog.

A court spokesperson says if he doesn't meet those requirements within 30 days the dogs will be euthanized.

"It's just a matter of time until someone else or a child or an animal is attacked in the neighborhood," said Tracy Tijerna.

 

Tracy Tijerna is among the neighbors in the Westgreen Park subdivision who are worried about the potential of another attack.

Tijerna says she no longer lets her 7-year-old daughter play in the backyard because the dogs have tried to get through her fence.

"I have plenty of family members with pit bulls. The dogs are responsible. The owners are responsible. When you keep them chained up daily and in small pens, they are going to be aggressive," added Tijerna.

Benner says his recovery could take a while, and he's dealing with mounting medical bills.

He told KHOU 11 News that his family is considering moving because of the dogs.

The homeowner who has been allowing the dogs to stay at his house says he does not want the dogs coming back.

He says his nephew is in the process of finding somewhere else to live in the event that he gets the dogs from quarantine.

(KHOU  - Dec 5, 2014)