Michigan: Man says his little dog was mauled by pit bulls; vet says she was so chewed up it was like trying to put stitches in hamburger

MICHIGAN -- One fall evening, Dave Siefert let his 10-pound shih tzu-poodle mix, Cassie, outside to answer nature's call.

Standing on his porch about 10 yards away, he briefly turned his back to put a cover on his grill, only to hear Cassie utter one quick bark.

"All of a sudden, she started screaming and yelping," Siefert recalled. "I turned around, and two pit bulls had her pinned to the ground. I jumped off the deck and tackled the one dog that had her in its mouth. I was on top of it and started beating it as hard as I could with my fists, but it wouldn't let go."

The larger dog managed to get free from the 64-year-old Siefert. The two pit bulls then took off into some nearby woods, Cassie still hanging from one of their mouths, Siefert said.

"I thought at the time that she was dead, the way they were shaking her around," he said. "When they took off, she was hanging limp in their mouth."

Incredibly, little Cassie ended up surviving the ordeal, and now her owner is hoping the authorities intervene to prevent a similar -- or worse -- attack from happening.

The incident took place about 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 9, on Siefert's property in the 5600 block of Cortland Drive, within Monitor Township's Cortland Farms subdivision.

Siefert said he recognized the pit bulls from his neighborhood.

Siefert's wife called Bay County Animal Control. An officer from that agency and a Bay County Sheriff's deputy responded and they, along with Siefert and his two adult sons, searched the nearby woods for Cassie.

"We never did find her," Siefert said, adding they quit searching about 10:30 p.m. "At about 3:30 a.m., I heard a crying and whimpering at my front door."

Siefer ventured outside and found a bloody Cassie lying on a porch step, still alive. He and his wife rushed their injured 10-year-old dog to Great Lakes Pet Emergencies, 1221 Tittabawassee Road in Saginaw County's Zilwaukee Township.

Due to Cassie's wounds, he doesn't think she made it back to his porch on her own steam.

"Her right front leg, the muscle was so chewed up, the vet said he couldn't believe she was still alive," Siefert said.

Bay County Animal Control confirmed they responded to Siefert's house, conducted an investigation, and forwarded their reports to the Bay County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutor Nancy E. Borushko said her staff is reviewing the matter, though a decision has not yet been made on whether or not charges will be issued.

Cassie has since undergone two surgeries to address her injuries.

"She had two lacerations along her throat, numerous bite wounds on the back of her neck, and a big bite toward middle of her back," Siefert said. "The doctor, when he operated on her, he said, 'I don't know about that right front leg. I tried to sew the muscles together, but they were so chewed up, it was like sewing through hamburger; the stitches don't want to hold.'"

Siefert said this is not the first time he's had issues with pit bulls in the neighborhood.

About a year and a half ago, his grandkids were swimming in a blow-up pool in his backyard when the dogs ran over, began barking, and the kids ran inside.

Then, in the fall of 2016, his wife was in their screened-in porch when one of the dogs came over and put its face and paws onto the screen door as if it was trying to get inside, Siefert said.

He's optimistic the authorities will step in to ensure Cassie's attack isn't repeated.

"My fear is, that could have been my grandson that the dogs had bitten by the arm or leg and dragged into the woods," Siefert said. "I would like to see these dogs taken away or have their owner put up a fence around his yard.

"It was like these dogs jumped out of the sky. They were right there -- Boom."

(MLive - Oct 29, 2017)