Latrell Bellard is furious over what happened when he went for a hike in the Santa Fe National Forest last week.
"I was resting on the side of the trail on a rock and a Pit Bull came up the trail by itself and then jumped on me, attacking me. I was able to defend myself with my hiking stick."
Bellard says he stopped the 80-pound dog with that stick, but it attacked again, clawing his legs and arms, trying to bite him.
Bellard says the attack lasted nearly 10 minutes with him doing all he could to fight off the Pit Bull.
When the Pit Bull's owner finally waddled up the trail, she was anything but remorseful. She screamed at him, "Don't you beat on my dog you ____ _____ and she tried to stick me with her hiking pole. I'm almost speechless when she said that."
OWNER FLED WITH BITE DOG
She then ran off with her vicious dog and disappeared, leaving him injured from the attack.
This happens so often, Pit Bull owners fleeing with their dogs, it's been coined "PIT AND RUN"
"The rules are, you either have your dog on a leash or under your control. That dog was definitely not under anyone's control.," said Julie Anne Overton, representative for the Santa Fe National Forest.
So will the owner of that dog face charges?
Bellard called Santa Fe County Animal Control and filed a report. Animal Control claims they couldn't find the dog or its owner.
Bellard says he's worried about other people who could encounter this nutbag and her vicious dog.
"She might want to rethink who's more valuable; the dog or the person," said Bellard.
Uh, she already decided when she beat you with her hiking pole - her mauler is more important. If you'd been lying there bleeding out, she would have grabbed her dog and fled, leaving you to die.
VIDEO NEWS CLIP:
(KOAT - June 9, 2017)
