Man recovering from pit bull attack after saving another potential victim

OKLAHOMA -- A Southwest Oklahoma City man is recovering from a pit bull attack in his own neighborhood.

Officials say one of the dogs is in quarantine, while the other remains on the loose.

A man was walking down the street when he found himself being attacked by two pit bulls.

He started screaming, and that’s when the man who lives next door came outside to help.

James Aubrey heard panicked cries for help and ran outside to find a man on top of a truck trying to get away from two pit bulls.

 

  

“You can see all the damage on his truck where the dogs tried to climb all the way up to get to that victim up there,” Aubrey says. “The minute they saw me, they both came after me. I had literally just seconds to respond and to protect myself.”

He grabbed a door jamb and fought off the dogs, but it didn’t keep him from getting his left arm chewed up.

“For some reason they started fighting each other for a split second and I was able to regain my stance, and he came at me again, and I got him good,” Aubrey said.

While another neighbor distracted the dogs, Aubrey pulled the man off the truck, and they got inside to call police.

Now Aubrey questions whether he should’ve grabbed his shotgun.

“I know I can protect myself inside my house, but I don’t know what the law says about protecting myself outside?” Aubrey said.

Animal Control told NewsChannel 4 that you have the right to defend yourself if you’re being attacked by a dog, but you have to be a licensed gun owner and be in fear of getting seriously hurt.

“If they’re going to allow these type of vicious dogs in the city, they need to have laws, need to have stricter lives so things like this don’t happen, innocent people don’t get hurt, kids don’t get hurt, or killed,” Aubrey said.

Animal control gave the owner of the pit bulls a ticket. Aubrey said he’s going to go down to animal control Tuesday to request the pit bull that attacked him be put down.

The pit bull taken into custody will be quarantined for 10 days before a decision is made on whether to put the dog down.

(kfor.com - Jan 19, 2015)