Washington: Pit bull mauled man in a car, then jumped out car's open window to continue attack

PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON -- A man is recovering from a brutal dog attack in Pierce County.

Pierce County Sheriff deputies said the victim had several deep bite marks on his face, arms, and legs.

The department said on Wednesday, a deputy responded to a 911 call reporting a dog attack in progress in the 15500 block of 119th Ave. Ct. E. in Puyallup's South Hill neighborhood.

When the deputy arrived on scene, deputies said the victim was on the ground covered in blood and neighbors, like Jon Zemanek, were trying to help the victim.

Zemanek said he heard screams for help and ran outside thinking it was his dog thatwas loose, but he saw the pit bull attacking the man by his front yard and he didn't hesitate to help.

"The first thing I could think of was to grab his jaw and try to pull,” said Zemanek.

Zemanek still has the punctures from the pit bull's teeth sinking into his fingers.

He tried to pry the dog's jaw off a man's arm before grabbing a metal pry bar.

“Lot of shaking myself,” said Zemanek. “I couldn’t believe I did what I did."

Deputies said the victim and a woman had been "playfully" arguing in a car when the dog lunged at the man and bit him in the face.

They pulled over by Zemanek’s yard, the man ran out but the dog went after him.

At one point neighbors said they helped the woman get the dog back into her car, but it jumped out of an open window, ran after the man again, caught him and began mauling him a second time.

"There was a lot of blood, there was a lot of blood all over,” said Zemanek.

A responding deputy finally fired shots at the dog, killing it after it let go then started circling the man, ready to attack again.

Neighbors said the whole situation was so frantic and uncontrollable; they don't think there was any other way to stop the dog.

“I never like to see an animal get put down unless it absolutely has too,” said Zemanek.

(KOMO News - May 4, 2018)

Australia: Pit Bull jumps out of vehicle and rips Pug apart. In her desperation to escape, Pug runs into road and is crushed by truck

AUSTRALIA -- Horrified dog owners have watched on as their tiny pug was mauled by another dog before being crushed by a truck.

The 12-month-old pug Lola was being taken for a walk on Sunday night in Carlisle, in Perth's inner-east, when a white Pit Bull jumped out of a vehicle stopped at the lights.

Lola's owners claim the dog - described as either a pit bull or Staffordshire Pit Bull Terrier - launched a savage attack on the helpless pug before being whisked away by its owner.

'The Pit Bull latched on to Lola's neck and was lifting her up and ripping her apart,' Lola's owner Ellie McKay told 9 News.

Ms McKay and her fiancee Simon Warman pulled the larger dog away from Lola who was badly injured.

But in her distressed state, Lola ran away from her owners and directly into the path of an oncoming truck.

Mr Warman said he ran after her, only to watch her collide with a moving truck.

"I just collapsed near her body," he said.

"I don't think we will ever get over watching her die,"  Ms McKay added.

"It was the worst experience of my entire life."

CCTV from a nearby liquor store shows the driver of the white vehicle chasing after his dog after the attack.

Ms McKay said the man gathered his dog and left the pair there screaming in despair.

"He just shrugged and said ‘sorry about that’ and put the dog back in his car," Ms McKay said.

"He just drove off and left us there screaming."

The couple are pleading for the public's help to find the owner who is described as fair skinned, in his late 50s with grey hair and stubble, according to 9 News.

(Daily Mail - January 24, 2018)

California: Pit Bull busts through screened-in window to attack and kill little dog

CALIFORNIA -- Susan Carlson posted on Facebook September 17, 2017 ·

We've lost a family member. Our Jenn Jensen's little Jameson was attacked by a pit bull and has passed away. Such a special little guy.....very beloved by all. Please keep Jenn in your thoughts and prayers.....

Susan Carlson - The bigger dog actually jumped through a window screen to go after poor little Jameson. A very dangerous dog....

[used "jumped out of vehicle" tag b/c I don't have a "jumped through window" tag]

Pennsylvania: Fundraiser set up for two children mauled by loose Pit Bull that jumped inside minivan

PENNSYLVANIA -- A GoFundMe account has been set up for the two little kids who were mauled when a loose Pit Bull jumped into their minivan and attacked. Although the news reports said both children were strapped in their car seats, Mom explains that she'd just taken her older son out and he was standing with her as she was going to get her daughter out. That's when the Pit Bull suddenly showed up, jumped inside and began mauling her little girl's face. It then turned on her son and began attacking them.

GoFundMe: Charlie and Ruby Warfel Fund
Created June 26, 2017 by Kerry Shuffelbottom
  Medical
  LANCASTER, PA

What Happened?

Shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday, June 19, 2017, our lives were forever changed when a loose pit bull escaped its yard under a fence and mercilessly attacked both of my babies. Those who know me will tell you I am not one to readily ask for help, but my children are in desperate need. As their mother, I will do everything in my power to help them heal, including accepting the generosity of friends, family and strangers as we start down this long and winding path.

My husband Jeff, son Charles (Charlie), daughter Ruby and I celebrated Father's Day on Sunday and had a full week ahead of us. Little did I know on Tuesday my kids would be recovering from hours of surgery at Penn State Children's Hospital.

On Monday, Ruby, Charlie and I went to our pediatrician for Ruby's 2½-year-old checkup. She received a clean bill of health and we headed home. I drove down the narrow street at the back of our house and backed into our off-street parking spot. I got out of the van first, got Charlie out next as he was sitting behind me on the driver's side, and we walked around the back of the van to the passenger side to get Ruby. Charlie patiently waited behind me and I opened Ruby's door. I was about to unbuckle my little girl from her car seat when the dog bolted across the street and jumped into the open van door. It all happened so fast.

The dog leapt up onto Ruby and started viciously attacking her face. I will spare the details but what Charlie and I witnessed is beyond anyone's worst nightmare. I finally managed to pull the dog off of my daughter and out of the van, but it went straight for my little boy behind me. It knocked him to the ground and began its attack. 

Looking back it's all a bit blurry. It was raining and the dog was slippery. It didn't have a collar on, making it even harder to get a grip. I was on top of the dog, trying to pry its mouth open with my hands. I received several puncture wounds in the fingers, arm and neck as well as scrapes to my knees and forearms, but my injuries pale in comparison to what my children sustained. I am pregnant and fortunately the baby was not harmed. The three of us were screaming and at some point some people came to try to help. They were yelling commands at me and one of the women had a knife.

I will never forget a man hovering over us with the knife saying to me, "I'm sorry. I just can't harm an animal," while watching an animal trying to kill my son as I screamed, "MY BABIES! MY BABIES!"

At some point my son was finally free. He was able to talk and said to me through his tears, "Mummy, that was a really bad dog." I picked up my son and got into the van. My hands were so bloody I had a hard time holding onto my phone. I called 911 and explained what happened and demanded the ambulance arrive as soon as possible. The operator of course couldn't give me a time frame and I knew how much blood my kids had lost. I decided I couldn't wait and drove them to the Lancaster General Hospital emergency room myself.

Because of thunderstorms, my kids couldn't be airlifted and had to travel by ambulance to Penn State Children's Hospital. I had to get back into my husband's bloodstained van and rush up to Hershey only to wait something like eight or nine hours for my son's surgery to be finished so that Ruby could have her turn in the operating room. My husband and I waited by the side of our helpless daughter as she lay in her hospital crib while the doctors worked to repair Charlie.

Who are Ruby and Charlie?

Ruby is a spirited two-year-old who loves tutus, Peppa Pig, and the color pink. Charlie (or "Brother" as she calls him) is her best friend. She can be bossy and has been known to stamp her foot for emphasis when petitioning us for "just one more piece of chocolate". Ruby's compassion for others is huge. When she woke up from surgery and saw the scratches on my arm, she immediately said, "Oh no! Your boo boos! I kiss your boo boos." She is looking forward to becoming a big sister in December.

Charlie is a sensitive, gifted five-year-old who loves writing, drawing, Lightning McQueen, and the color red. He relishes his role as the big brother and is extremely protective of his little sister. He had been looking forward to starting kindergarten in eight weeks. He attended pre-kindergarten this past year and learned how to read and write. He aspires to be a famous writer or artist when he grows up. When the swelling in his eyes subsided enough for him to see again, he immediately began drawing pictures to decorate his hospital room.

Expenses and Moving Forward

Ruby and Charlie are lucky to be alive after the attack but they each have a long road ahead of them. Their doctors assure me and Jeff there is a lot of hope for both of our babies but it is simply too early to know for sure what they will need down the line. Every penny donated will go toward the kids' current and future medical expenses. The amount of money they will require will far exceed our family's financial ability or any kind of settlement we can expect. The major costs to our family are listed below:

1. Future surgeries - Because of the severe facial lacerations, nerve and muscle damage each child has suffered, they are guaranteed to need multiple surgeries over the course of several years. We are not sure if Charlie will ever be able to smile again. One side of Ruby's beautiful smile is drooping and her left eye doesn't close at this point when she cries. Aside from operations to restore function to their faces, the kids will need to undergo further plastic surgeries and/or laser treatments to improve their appearance and help minimize their outward scarring.

2. Speech therapy and counseling - Charlie may need speech therapy to help him overcome the damage he suffered. Both kids will need intensive counseling as they are now understandably terrified of dogs. Charlie has night terrors and wakes up in the night shielding his face. When he woke up after surgery, the first thing he talked about was the dog. Up until now, Ruby has had zero fear of our family cat, Penny. Upon returning home, she asked Jeff if Penny was going to bite her. There are two large dogs living next door to us, and I already wonder how I will get my kids in and out of their home without fear.

3. Hospital stays - Ruby stayed three days in the hospital while Charlie slowly made his way from the pediatric intensive care unit to the pediatric intermediate care unit. On Saturday, June 24, he was moved to the regular floor.

4. Rabies shots/medications - The dog had not been immunized in close to four years, meaning the three of us need to undergo a painful series of rabies vaccinations. The kids received numerous medications in the hospital and will be sent home with several prescriptions.

5. Everyday living expenses - We are a working class family. Jeff works hard as a printing pressman on third shift. I left my job two years ago to be a stay-at-home mother until the kids are in school full-time. Jeff will be off work for an indefinite period of time and the loss of income would be tough enough even without a baby on the way.

How You Can Help

1. Make a donation - We are grateful for every amount we receive, no matter how small. We promise all of the funds raised will go directly to helping Ruby and Charlie heal.

2. Spread the word - Share this campaign on all your social media. Talk to your friends and family about it. Send out an email. Put up a flyer at your break room at work. If you're a churchgoer, talk to your priest or pastor.

Should you have any questions about making a donation, feel free to contact my sister Kerry Shuffelbottom or me. Thank you in advance for supporting our family through this horrific ordeal.

Much love,

Margot Shuffelbottom Warfel (Charlie and Ruby's mother)

 

Earlier:

• Pennsylvania: Pit Bull jumps into minivan and mauls two children who are still strapped in their car seats; children in "serious condition"
• Pennsylvania: After a loose Pit Bull jumps into a minivan and mauls two children, ages 2 and 5, while they're strapped into their car seats, Jason Haner asks if they provoked the dog and then blames their mother. Kevin Sterner chimes in to say " Just because they were in a car seat doesn't mean anything"

Wisconsin: Pit bull mix jumps out of owner's vehicle to attack Labrador being walked on leash

WISCONSIN -- "friends, i need some advice. this morning while Kyle was walking Bauer, our yellow lab in downtown Hudson she was attacked by another dog.

the dog (pit bull / mastiff) was in a stopped car, when he launched over his owner in the drivers seat, out the window and attacked Bauer in the neck. Kyle started hitting the dog to stop it and others helped in to separate the dogs.

 

 

Police were called and I promptly arrived and took Bauer to the vet. GOOD NEWS Bauer is going to be ok (she has stitches, antibiotics and anti inflammatory drugs) and now we are taking Kyle to the doctor as he thinks he may have broken his hand.

The owner is cooperating with police, she says the dog is vaccinated but this dog is new to her as she just adopted him.

 

Question for you all - do we have any recourse for this? Knowing this dog is out there and could attack again is not sitting well with me. And while it doesn't matter in the scheme of things, the vet bill and hospital visit is going to be expensive. I am not after money, i just don't want this to happen again.

Any advice you can give us would be appreciated. Thanks to Officer Wedell from the Hudson WI Police Department for coming to the vet to check in on Bauer and for the strangers who came in and helped."

Update: Thanks everyone for all the helpful information and advice. Bauer is doing well!

 

Convict: Eric Bacon claimed in court that his Pit Bull opened the van door to jump out and maul an elderly man. The judge didn't buy it.

NEW YORK -- Eric Bacon's last-ditch attempt to avoid prison in a crippling dog attack fell on deaf ears in court this morning.

Bacon, 30, suggested that the pit bull opened the door to the van before the attack. Or, he said, the dog could have jumped out the window.

But even his own defense lawyer, David Zukher, countered that numerous witnesses saw Bacon open the van door before the late-night May 12, 2014 attack on Essex Street in Syracuse.

State Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti suggested that Bacon may have been so drunk at the time he didn't remember what happened.

"Since the arrest, you've been stone-cold sober," the judge said. "It's frustrating you because you can't believe you were guilty of that."

Brunetti then sentenced Bacon to 13 years in prison today for the attack that cost Steven Cruse, 51, half his pinky and left other permanent injuries. His sentence was extended because he previously robbed someone less than a decade before the attack.

Prosecutor Michael Manfredi had asked for 20 years in prison.

In a bizarre 20-minute sentencing, defense lawyer Zukher spent most of it defending himself from attacks by his own client, who told the judge not everything was presented at his trial last month.

Zukher responded that the additional evidence, from the van's driver, was so conflicting and baseless that it wasn't worthy of belief.

"I would have been perpetrating fraud against the court, and it would have made things 10 times worse," Zukher said.

Bacon responded a short time later by telling his lawyer he didn't trust him.

But minutes later, Zukher defended Bacon when asked to address the court before the judge's sentence.

There's no way Bacon could have known the dog would attack, Zukher argued. He downplayed conflicting testimony that Bacon may have ordered the dog to attack.

The dog was barely trained to sit, he said, let alone attack. That's important because Bacon was found guilty by jury of using the dog as a weapon, much like a knife or a gun.

But Brunetti noted that Bacon had told the victim, "You want a piece of me?" before opening the van door.

ATTACK BEGAN WHEN PIT BULLS ATTACKED HIS DOG

The whole incident had begun minutes before, when two loose pit bulls began attacking Cruse's elderly German Shepherd.

Cruse rushed out to protect his elderly dog, eventually lying on his pet with his arms around the dog's neck in an effort to stave off the attack, said prosecutor Michael Manfredi. He suffered bite marks as the pit bulls continued attacking.

The ruckus caused neighbors to come outside and there were multiple witnesses to the attack. A 15-year-old boy jumped into the fray in an attempt to protect Cruse and his dog.

Today, Brunetti called the boy a hero, noting that the boy jumped in while adults stood by and watched.

VICTIM SAYS PIT OWNER TRIED TO FLEE WITH DOGS
Moments later, a minivan pulled up and the dogs jumped in. Cruse, seeing that the perpetrators were getting away, threatened to call police.

That's when Bacon confronted him and opened the door, letting a 90-pound pit bull out again.

It's that second attack that caused Cruse to lose half of his pinky finger and sustain permanent injuries to his right hand, Manfredi said.

The pit bull then jumped into the van and the perpetrators took off.

Bacon was identified the next day after police investigating the attack located the van. The pit bulls belonged to someone else.

Bacon said today that he "didn't mean any of this to happen. Just wanted to help a friend get the dogs back."

He noted he'll be leaving behind a family and children when he goes to prison. "I'm fighting for my life," Bacon said.

(Syracuse.com - May 29, 2015)

Florida: Numerous Attack By Pit Bulls Triggers Call For More Regulations

FLORIDA -- An attack on a teen-age boy by two pit bulls in an neighborhood where unleashed dogs have been a problem for years has some residents demanding more county regulations of dogs and the banning of pit bull ownership.

"I'm tired of people not being able to walk the streets. People who live around here have been terrorized by those dogs," the boy's father, Dennis Kauffman Sr., said.

Dennis Kauffman Jr., 14, of the 4300 block of Northeast 13th Avenue, south of Deerfield Beach, was walking home on Tuesday after mowing the lawn at an aunt's house when two pit bulls ran from a nearby yard and attacked him. He was mauled in five parts of his body.

Even before the attack, the neighborhood homeowners association had scheduled a meeting for tonight with an official of the Broward Sheriff's Office on the problem of unleashed, vicious dogs.

Kauffman was bitten by a different pit bull last year. That dog, which belonged to a neighbor just two houses away, had also attacked another resident.

"I think they should be outlawed," said Erika Termyna, 67, who was bitten on her arms and legs. "They're dangerous, very dangerous. Shoot them all down, period."

Termyna owns a Doberman Pinscher.

Neighborhood residents said there are two other homes in the area with pit bulls. At both locations, several pit bulls are raised and bred, they said.

In the last month, in other parts of Broward County, there have been two other serious dog attacks.

Anna Young, 76, of the 5900 block of Northwest 41st Terrace, near North Lauderdale, was mauled by two mixed breed dogs owned by her son. She remains in a coma at Northwest Regional Hospital in Margate. The dogs had attacked a mail carrier six months before.

Also in July, a pit bull jumped from a pickup truck in Plantation and bit a woman on the leg in a parking lot.

The man identified as the owner of the dogs that bit Kauffman could not be reached for comment. Joey LaCross, who also owns two pit bull puppies, was out of town, according to relatives at his house in the 5000 block of Northeast 14th Street.

Kauffman's father said he will ask the homeowners association to get involved in the fight to better regulate dogs.

Thelma Ramsey, program director for the Pompano Beach Highlands Civic Improvement Association, said the organization has been trying for years to get county officials to address the problem of unleashed dogs.

The association petitioned the County Commission to give the county's Animal Control Division more money and more power to cite violators.

"I think it's getting out of hand with pit bulls and other animals. It's not fair to the animal and not fair to others," Ramsey said.

The County Commission had adopted a regulation that required pit bull owners to carry $100,000 in liability insurance, but it was struck down by a court ruling in 1986.

Larry Atwell, assistant director of the Animal Control Division, said the dogs that bit Kauffman are being held for a required 10 days rabies watch. One of the dogs was shot in the lip by Sheriff's Deputy Michael Bounassi as they ran toward him after the attack on Kauffman.

Atwell said the physical structure of a pit bull makes its bite more severe because of its ability to lock its jaws once it has bitten a victim. He said pit bulls are both naturally vicious and bred or trained to be vicious.

He said LaCross was in violation of the county's leash law and also had not had the dogs vaccinated or tagged. He said LaCross would have to pay a $56 fine for each dog.

The Sheriff's Office considered but then rejected filing charges of aggravated battery against LaCross. It can't be proven that he intended for the dogs to attack, Sheriff's Office spokesman George Crolius said. However, he said, the dogs may be taken from the owner and destroyed under the county's vicious dog law.

(Sun Sentinel - August 4, 1988)

Florida: Authorities give Mike Thompson and Lynn Thompson back their vicious pit bull which tried to kill mail carrier Louise Johnson

FLORIDA -- Mike Thompson and Lynn Thompson, owners of a vicious pit bull accused of mauling a mail carrier two weeks ago, were victimized by a neighbor`s pit bull just hours before their dog returned home, according to police.

Three of the Thompsons' pet rabbits, kept outside in a metal cage, were killed Sunday night by Stroker, a 7-month-old dog owned by Anthony and Lori Schuerings, the Thompsons' next-door neighbors, police said. Two other rabbits were mutilated, but were expected to live, according to Lynn Thompson.

Stroker was taken to Broward County Animal Control on Monday and released 20 minutes later.

Meanwhile, Mike Thompson brought his pit bulls, Bam-Bam and Pebbles, home Monday amid a throng of reporters and photographers. The police hold on them had been lifted, and Thompson arrived at the animal control center about 3 p.m. to bring them home.

Thompson insists his pets did not injure Louise Johnson, 44, of Lauderhill on July 10 as she was making her rounds.

Thompson was excited to see Bam-Bam for the first time in 12 days. Hugging and kissing the dog, Thompson promised to take the muzzle off of him as soon as they arrived home.

Neither of the dogs had rabies, said William Sulser, acting director of Animal Control.

Johnson identified Bam-Bam as the dog that bit her nearly 50 times while she was inside her Jeep. She told police that Pebbles, a mixed-breed German shepherd, also jumped into the Jeep, but she did not remember that dog biting her.

The attack left her with deep gashes in her right arm and leg and bite marks on her other leg and arm. 

Johnson was hospitalized for a week and now has scars on her legs and arms. She filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Thompsons two days after the attack.

Her doctor, Howard Robinson, said she may need another skin graft on her right leg. She is not expected to return to work for some time, said Postmaster Merio Claudio.

Claudio sent a special delivery letter to the Thompsons on Monday, telling them the Post Office will not deliver mail to their home now that their pit bulls have returned.

"Until we get a written letter from them that they will absolutely confine the dog or rent a post office box, we will not deliver mail to the Thompsons," he said.

Mike Thompson said he did not see the original attack on his pet rabbits Sunday, but he caught Stroker when the dog returned to the rabbit cage Monday morning. "He tore the cage to pieces. Of my 14 rabbits, three are dead and two are recovering."

Thompson said he tried to scare the dog away by firing a handgun filled with blanks, police said. He then put the dog in his garage until a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy arrived, said Matt Weissing, sheriff's spokesman.

The Schuerings did not dispute that their dog killed the rabbits. Lori Schuerings, however, said the rabbits constantly were loose. The Schuerings were charged with breaking the county's leash law.

"My hunting dogs got the scent of them, and that's what happens," he said. "It seems we're getting a little feud started."

The Thompsons have said they think the Schuerings' mixed breed pit bull attacked Johnson.

Yeah, no. It was YOUR dog.

Schuering joined with other residents in the area in calling for Bam-Bam to be taken away permanently.

"I don't want that dog in my neighborhood. I just hope that dog don't come in my yard because I'll shoot it."

On the day of the attack on Johnson, Lynn Thompson had said she would not allow Bam-Bam back in the house with her three young children. On Monday, however, she was thrilled to have her pit bull and mixed breed German shepherd home.

"Our dogs our home, and our kids are happy. I can go to sleep tonight," she said.

(Sun Sentinel - July 23, 1985)

Earlier:

• Florida: Mail carrier recalls day when Pit Bull and German Shepherd mix jumped inside her mail truck and tried to kill her

Florida: Mail carrier recalls day when Pit Bull and German Shepherd mix jumped inside her mail truck and tried to kill her

FLORIDA -- Six days have passed since mail carrier Louise Johnson thought she would die from a raging pit bull terrier.

And, every night, she has relived the attack that "seemed like forever."

"I've been waking up fighting," she said. "I've been hurting myself because I've been fighting (the dog) off so hard. I really thought that was it for me at one point in the back of the Jeep."

Johnson was delivering mail in an unincorporated area of Broward County near Pembroke Park July 10 when a pit bull and a mixed-breed German shepherd jumped into her Jeep. Both dogs belong to Lynn Thompson and Mike Thompson of 5619 SW 38th St.

The pit bull, Bam-Bam, bit Johnson nearly 50 times, leaving her with deep gashes in her right arm and leg and bite marks on her other leg and arm. The right arm remains bandaged.

The dogs remain at Broward County Animal Control. Both are under a police hold, said Larry Atwell, assistant director of Animal Control.

In her 12 years of working for the U.S. Postal Service, Johnson said, she has been chased by many a dog. "But this was my first dog bite," she said.

On Friday, Johnson filed a $5 million lawsuit against the Thompsons. She claimed they should have restrained their pets and that she suffered permanent damage as a result of the attack.

On Monday Johnson, 44, was sitting in her hospital room at Humana Hospital South Broward, accepting visitors and talking about going back to the route she has worked for six years.

The attack started just after Johnson put mail in the Thompsons' mailbox, which is just outside a chain-link fence that surrounds the house.

"Like usual, I drove up and I saw the dogs doing like they always do, barking and jumping on the fence," Johnson said. "I always make sure the fence is closed.

"I put the mail in the box and turned to check on my next delivery. I heard this noise and both dogs were jumping into the Jeep.

"They start started attacking me. I screamed and hollered. But no one helped me."

She saw one of the neighbors standing in his yard watching the attack. She screamed and begged him for help. 

"But he said, 'That's not my dog,'" Johnson recalled.

At some point during the struggle inside the Jeep, one of the dogs knocked the gear shift, jolting the Jeep forward. The movement closed off the window on the driver's side when it came to rest against the Thompson's fence, Johnson said.

"All I could think of was, 'I've got to get out of this Jeep or else he's going to kill me,'" she said.

She tried to get Bam-Bam away from her by grabbing onto his neck chain, setting her hopes of escape on the window on the other side of the Jeep.

"I figured somebody would come by and try to help me -- throw a rock or something," she said.

No one did.

Once outside, she threw dirt in Bam-Bam's face. That didn't do the trick.

"Then I saw the fire truck, and I said, 'Thank God, I'm going to get help,'" she recalled. "But I guess they were afraid of the dog because they didn't get out of the truck."

Finally, after "what seemed like forever," Broward Sheriff`s Office Deputy Debbie Cox drove up and turned the siren on. Bam-Bam released his grip, and Cox pulled her police car between Johnson and the dog, allowing Johnson to climb in and be rushed to the hospital.

Johnson said she expects to get out of the hospital in a few days. Then she will wait for the pain to subside and the clearance from her doctor to return to work -- to the very same route she has been doing for six years.

"Even if I went to another route, there'd still be dogs," she said.

(Sun Sentinel - July 16, 1985)