Toni Beard suffered a bite to her hand and her 7-year-old Chihuahua Artie was severely wounded by a neighbor's dog as she walked him near woods on Sugar Maple Street in Bluffton Park around 2 p.m. Monday, according to a report from the Bluffton Police Department.
Beard said Wednesday the neighbor's dog -- identified as a pit bull in the police report though Beard and others said it was a pit bull bull mix -- saw her walking Artie and her other Chihuahua, Toodles, and came after the smaller dogs.
The pit bull snatched Artie, who weighs just five pounds, in its jaws and dragged Beard by Artie's leash almost four feet into the woods, Beard said Wednesday. As Beard fought the dog to remove Artie from its mouth, it began to shake Artie "like a rag doll," she said.
The dog's owner was on the scene and Beard pleaded with her for help. The owner told Beard the dogs were playing, Beard said.
"I told her they weren't playing, (that) he's killing Artie," she said.
Beard was bitten as she pried the dog's jaws open to remove Artie. She made it halfway across the street before neighbors, drawn by the screams and wails coming from the woods, told her the dog was chasing her and Artie again.
Neighbor Tina Schettino helped Beard get inside her home safely, but the larger dog chased Schettino to her minivan.
Schettino and another neighbor told police they were both putting their children into their cars when the dog ran from the woods toward Beard. The women said they heard the dog's owner yell for them to run. Both Schettino and the neighbor managed to get inside their vehicles. With the pit bull scratching and biting at her minivan, Schettino called police.
SEVERE INJURIES
Beard said the attack left Artie with a broken leg, three pelvic fractures, and several puncture wounds on his body.
He was taken to a Bluffton veterinary clinic and later transferred to a Savannah animal hospital for round-the-clock care over the last two days.
Artie still needs surgery to fix a laceration in his belly, Beard said.
Beard suffered puncture wounds to her thumb and index finger. The bites also left her with a blood infection that requires regular monitoring, her husband Michael Beard said.
The Beards had to bring Artie home Wednesday because they were unable to pay the vet rising bills.
Toni Beard said Artie returned home Wednesday and was on painkillers. Beard was told to keep Artie off his back leg and to limit his walking for four weeks.
Toni Beard's sister, Dee DeeHartke, said the costs for Artie's treatment are currently around $2,000, but are expected to rise, potentially as high as $7,000.
The pit bull's owner told the Beards she would not pay, telling Michael Beard she saw no blood from the attack. Toni Beard's shirt was stained with Artie's blood, according to the police report.
Attempts Wednesday to reach the dog's owner were unsuccessful.
The Beards have set up a GoFundMe.com account to help raise money for his veterinary care.
DOG CONFINED
The owner told police that the dog was being playful and was not aggressive with people. She said she planned to get a muzzle for her animal, the report said.
The officer noted in the report that the owner had no verbal control over the dog, named Sammy. During that interview, the dog twice escaped from the home and had to be chased down.
Police collected the dog and turned him over to Beaufort County Animal Services, but Beard and Hartke said the dog's stay was only temporary.
"Children can't go outside and play because of the dog," Toni Beard said. "Something's wrong with that picture."
(Hilton Head Island Packet - March 11, 2015)
