He prayed some more when Mattie was hospitalized following the attack near Wilmington's Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Monday morning.
"My little doggie is just like a part of our family," Benson said Tuesday. "I stayed up all night long praying and asked the Lord to just let me suffer some of that pain, which I did.
"Whew, I tell you now I was just so grateful this morning that they called me and told me I could come pick her up."
Mattie, who is usually an animated pup, rested on Benson's bed Tuesday afternoon. Several stitches could be seen near the dog's now-shaved left front leg and shoulder. She also had a cone collar around her neck.
Jason Stowell, who owns Stewie the pit bull mix, said he was sickened by the incident and plans to cover the medical expenses for Mattie.
Benson and Stowell had to pry the animal off Mattie, who has required nearly $1,700 in medical bills.
"It was a very traumatic experience for everyone involved," Stowell said.
He said his dog had never lashed out before and has been trained with other dogs. His family, which includes three kids, rescued Stewie, he said.
Stowell was on his way to work and said he must have either left the door open or Stewie nudged it open, he said.
First State Animal Center and SPCA, which handles animal control for Wilmington, is investigating the incident and had no comment on it Tuesday. The group was awarded a one-year $600,000 contract by City Council last week to handle Wilmington's state-required animal control and sheltering service.
While not commenting on the incident, First State spokeswoman Lisa Strong Chase said pet owners need to know where their animals are at all times.
"If an animal is inside the house, do not leave the door open," she said, adding people should make sure dogs are in other rooms when opening doors.
Wilmington owners of pit bulls more than 6 months old must pay a one-time fee of $80 to register their dogs. Failure to register can lead authorities to seize the dog and fine the owner $500. Some other conditions require the dog to be leashed and muzzled before entering any city park and be neutered or spayed.
First State said it will not enforce the law requiring Wilmington pit bull owners to register their dogs because of its opposition to breed-specific ordinances.
[Since when does your disagreement with a law mean you can ignore it? Don't agree with theft laws? Steal everything! Don't agree with paying taxes? Don't pay 'em! Someone needs to do something about this shelter. Shut them down.]
Benson knows about tragedy with this breed.
His cousin's daughter and grandson were attacked by three pit bulls last month near Felton, he said.
The 4-year-old boy, Kasii Haith, was killed in the attack and his mother, Kyiesha Haith, was injured. No charges were filed or expected to be filed by state police, said Sgt. Paul Shavack, a spokesman for the agency.
Despite that, Benson said he doesn't favor breed-specific laws. But he would like something done about vicious dogs.
"I don't down on people who raise pit bulls," he said. "But if they are trained to kill, you don't want to have them around people or anything like that. I don't know if the dog was trained to protect its property. If so, you leave him inside the house ..."
He said that Mattie will require more medical care, including a doctor's visit later this week.
"It was just one of those really freak things yesterday that will never happen again," Stowell said. "Hopefully Mattie is going to recover fully."
(The News Journal - June 24, 2014)
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