NEW ZEALAND -- A Rotorua family is distraught after their dog was mauled to death by an American pit bull.
Rotorua Lakes Council animal control supervisor Kevin Coutts said one of his staff was called to today's incident in Springfield by police.
He said the owner of the American pit bull terrier had called the police.
"She had gone to an acquaintance's home who wasn't home, so she let the dog off [the lead] to relieve itself. It jumped the fence and killed a small Australian silky terrier."
He said the owner "to her credit" surrendered the pit bull immediately. She was distraught, as were the owners of the dead dog, he said.
The pit bull was taken to a vet and put down straight away.
Mr Coutts said the pit bull's owner was would receive a $300 infringement notice for failing to comply with the menacing dog rules.
He said further investigations would be carried out before deciding if any further action would be taken.
(New Zealand Herald - Jun 9, 2016)
Showing posts with label silky terrier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label silky terrier. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Bull mastiff rips small dog from owner's arms at beach
AUSTRALIA -- A bull mastiff has been euthanised after it viciously ripped a small dog from its owners' arms and nearly killed it at Urangan beach.
Leslie Martin's small chihuahua-cross-silky terrier, Harry, was left with horrendous injuries, torn open and fighting for his life after the dog-on-dog assault.
Witnesses Cheryl and David Thompson said the bull mastiff and a boston terrier circled Ms Martin like hunting dogs before they attacked on Sunday.
"The two unleashed dogs raced 200m up the beach to attack her dog," she said.
"Leslie was trying to pick her dog up but the mastiff tore him from her arms."
Sam Biddle of Bayview Vets said Harry's injuries were severe, but he was expected to recover.
"The massive wounds are consistent with a dog attack where he has been picked up and shaken," Dr Biddle said.
(Sunshine Coast Daily - Oct 5, 2013)
Leslie Martin's small chihuahua-cross-silky terrier, Harry, was left with horrendous injuries, torn open and fighting for his life after the dog-on-dog assault.
Witnesses Cheryl and David Thompson said the bull mastiff and a boston terrier circled Ms Martin like hunting dogs before they attacked on Sunday.
"The two unleashed dogs raced 200m up the beach to attack her dog," she said.
"Leslie was trying to pick her dog up but the mastiff tore him from her arms."
Sam Biddle of Bayview Vets said Harry's injuries were severe, but he was expected to recover.
"The massive wounds are consistent with a dog attack where he has been picked up and shaken," Dr Biddle said.
(Sunshine Coast Daily - Oct 5, 2013)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Groton Man Attacked by Dog Struggles with the Memories
CONNECTICUT -- For weeks, Ralph Conwell could not sleep.
But Conwell couldn’t help. He lay on the ground for 35 minutes, hanging onto the dog that attacked them both, trying not to pass out, his arms torn apart and bleeding. Lacy later died.
“I keep thinking it’s my fault,” he said.
It’s been a little more than eight weeks since Conwell, 74, and his 3-year-old Silky Terrier were attacked Aug. 28 at Calvin Burrows Field in Groton.
Conwell was rushed by ambulance to the hospital with torn arms and legs. He was so seriously injured that emergency personnel considered airlifting him to a trauma center in New Haven, but a helicopter was unavailable, so they brought him to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.
Lacy was brought to Companion Animal Hospital and died that evening.
Two hospital stays
The dog involved in the attack, a 4-year-old Boxer Pit Bull mix named Bronson, was euthanized after the required 14-day quarantine. Another dog owned by the same family that owned Bronson was relocated elsewhere.
The Conwells said they decided not to press charges against their neighbors, but retained a lawyer to go after the family’s homeowner’s insurance to cover medical bills. Ralph Conwell said he doesn’t know how much they’ll be, but he guesses at least $50,000.
He spent six days in the hospital after surgery to clean and staple his wounds, then another five days later, after infection set in. His legs are all right now. His arms are healing. He still has one surgery left, to repair a knuckle he had replaced due to arthritis, and he’s not sure if one of his other fingers will ever work the way it used to.
The worst part, he said, was losing his dog, and knowing he could have been more prepared.
Two earlier attacks
Conwell said Bronson had attacked them twice before but he didn’t report it.
“The first time it happened, I failed to do three things,” he said. “See the owner and insist on better control of that dog, call the dog warden, and arm (myself).”
He could have carried a stick or a knife, he said. He has a stun gun, but under the law, he’s not allowed to use it outside. Conwell is a former Marine who worked for 20 years at Electric Boat, then as a contractor for nuclear plants.
The Conwells live on South Road, across from a neighbor whose daughter and son-in-law moved in with their four children and two dogs. One was Bronson, a Boxer Pit Bull mix.
In the summer of 2011, Conwell said the children were walking the dogs, lost control of them and started yelling. Conwell said he saw the Pit Bull coming at Lacy, so he snatched her up and dropped her on the other side of a fence. She had small cuts, perhaps from the fence, but was otherwise unhurt. He grabbed Bronson by the collar and the children took the dog away.
Then in the winter, he was walking Lacy again when he heard dogs barking and children yelling. One dog knocked him to the ground and he hit his head, but he grabbed Lacy, he said. Bronson bit him, but he had on a heavy winter coat, and it didn’t break the skin. The neighbors came over later to make sure Lacy was all right.
Attack at the field
On Aug. 28, Conwell took Lacy out for one of her usual daily walks at Calvin Burrows Field. As he finished his loop and began walking down a steep hill, Bronson broke off his leash from the house nearby. Conwell said the dog knocked him over, and he rolled down the hill maybe 12 feet, by the stilts of a small building where announcers keep score at the games.
He got up next to Bronson, heard a horrible yelp, and saw Lacy in his jaws. Conwell said he jumped on the Pit Bull, punching him in the face as hard as he could, and the dog dropped Lacy and grabbed Conwell's arm. He reached for pepper spray but it didn't help.
Conwell tried to get between Lacy and the Pit Bull, and the dog grabbed his other arm, twisting and shaking it in his mouth.
“I just remember screaming,” he said.
Then somehow, he said he got Bronson's collar. “We started rolling around on the ground, and that tore my legs up from my knees to my toes,” he said.
They were on top of each other, wrestling on the ground, the dog on top of him, and Conwell said he started biting the dog’s chest. He said at one point he thought the dog might go for his throat. Then he bit the dog's ear.
“That hurt him I guess, because he came up and I got both hands on his collar and I pushed myself on my back. So now he’s on his back, on me, and I start pushing (us) up the hill,” Conwell said.
Bleeding and waiting for help
Then he spied about six feet of metal rope still attached to Bronson, and thought of a plan. He held the dog down with his legs, wrapped one end around the building post and pulled.
Blood was flowing out of his arms and he thought he was going to pass out. He knew the road was there, but he couldn’t see it, he said. And he began to cry out for help. Lacy had her eyes open, and sprinklers went on at the field. Water began running over her.
He lay there, bleeding, looking at Lacy. He knew he couldn't let go, or Bronson would finish her. Maybe 35, 40 minutes went by.
The Conwells know it was this long, because Ralph Conwell’s wife, Lorraine, knew when he left, and she was worried. The couple had an appointment to get a car, and she’d left the house looking for him. She went to the field but saw nothing, then figured he’d walked down Poquonnock Road.
A passerby stops
Meanwhile, Conwell lay on the field. A car went by with its windows closed and he called for help but the driver couldn't hear. Then Conwell remembers a second car, and it stopped.
He learned later that the man stopped because he saw water in the field where he thought it shouldn’t be, and decided to investigate. He hadn't heard Conwell yelling.
Then the passerby found Conwell and Lacy.
“And I remember saying, ‘I need an ambulance, a cop, and help my dog, Lacy down there,’” Conwell said.
Around this same time, Lorraine Conwell decided she was getting in her car and driving to look for her husband. And as she went to get in the car, two police cars and an ambulance, sirens blaring, passed her house and turned into the park. And she knew.
She ran across the street, and saw Ralph with his arms bleeding, his legs torn, being loaded into an ambulance. They wouldn’t let her near him, she said. Then she said the animal control officer picked up Lacy, wrapped her in a blanket, and put her in Lorraine Conwell’s arms.
The officer said she was taking Lacy to Companion Animal Hospital.
The woman who owned Bronson came to the park.
“Her husband was crying and saying ‘Oh my God.’ That’s all I heard all day long, was ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Lorraine Conwell said.
Screaming in pain
Then Conwell’s son came to the house. Throughout the day, he brought her back and forth between Lawrence & Memorial and Companion Animal Hospital.
She said the doctor warned them it was bad, and when they first reached Ralph Conwell's room, he was screaming, 'I’m in pain,' she said.
Lorraine and Ralph Conwell have been married 53 years. She said she's never heard him like that. He was headed into surgery.
By evening, the doctors at Companion Animal Hospital told Lorraine Conwell Lacy wasn’t going to make it. She'd seen her several times, and Lacy had looked at her; but the dog was bleeding into her stomach. She said goodbye to Lacy.
She said she felt so alone.
Memories of Lacy
Lacy used to make a bed in the walk-in closet in their house, and she loved to wear clothes. She’d run to the window if someone approached the house, and always seemed to know which window was closest, so she was smart that way.
Her favorite toy was a football.
“Everyone loved her,” Ralph Conwell said.
Just this week, he’s been able to sleep. Probably five out of seven days now. It’s just that he thinks about how he should have been prepared for what happened, and how he wants other people to be prepared.
“If a Pit Bull comes after you right now, what are you going to do, really?” he said. “What’s your defense?”
Lorraine Conwell said the worst part of it all is having lost their dog, and knowing her husband feels like it's his fault.
“When he’s feeling better about things, then I’ll feel better about things,” she said. “But he’s blaming himself for everything.”
(Groton Patch - Oct 25, 2012)
He had this image in his mind that wouldn’t go away: His dog, Lacy, laying six feet away, covered in blood, looking at him with pleading eyes, as if to say, “Help me.”
But Conwell couldn’t help. He lay on the ground for 35 minutes, hanging onto the dog that attacked them both, trying not to pass out, his arms torn apart and bleeding. Lacy later died.
“I keep thinking it’s my fault,” he said.
It’s been a little more than eight weeks since Conwell, 74, and his 3-year-old Silky Terrier were attacked Aug. 28 at Calvin Burrows Field in Groton.
Conwell was rushed by ambulance to the hospital with torn arms and legs. He was so seriously injured that emergency personnel considered airlifting him to a trauma center in New Haven, but a helicopter was unavailable, so they brought him to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital.
Lacy was brought to Companion Animal Hospital and died that evening.
Two hospital stays
The dog involved in the attack, a 4-year-old Boxer Pit Bull mix named Bronson, was euthanized after the required 14-day quarantine. Another dog owned by the same family that owned Bronson was relocated elsewhere.
The Conwells said they decided not to press charges against their neighbors, but retained a lawyer to go after the family’s homeowner’s insurance to cover medical bills. Ralph Conwell said he doesn’t know how much they’ll be, but he guesses at least $50,000.
He spent six days in the hospital after surgery to clean and staple his wounds, then another five days later, after infection set in. His legs are all right now. His arms are healing. He still has one surgery left, to repair a knuckle he had replaced due to arthritis, and he’s not sure if one of his other fingers will ever work the way it used to.
The worst part, he said, was losing his dog, and knowing he could have been more prepared.
Two earlier attacks
Conwell said Bronson had attacked them twice before but he didn’t report it.
“The first time it happened, I failed to do three things,” he said. “See the owner and insist on better control of that dog, call the dog warden, and arm (myself).”
He could have carried a stick or a knife, he said. He has a stun gun, but under the law, he’s not allowed to use it outside. Conwell is a former Marine who worked for 20 years at Electric Boat, then as a contractor for nuclear plants.
The Conwells live on South Road, across from a neighbor whose daughter and son-in-law moved in with their four children and two dogs. One was Bronson, a Boxer Pit Bull mix.
In the summer of 2011, Conwell said the children were walking the dogs, lost control of them and started yelling. Conwell said he saw the Pit Bull coming at Lacy, so he snatched her up and dropped her on the other side of a fence. She had small cuts, perhaps from the fence, but was otherwise unhurt. He grabbed Bronson by the collar and the children took the dog away.
Then in the winter, he was walking Lacy again when he heard dogs barking and children yelling. One dog knocked him to the ground and he hit his head, but he grabbed Lacy, he said. Bronson bit him, but he had on a heavy winter coat, and it didn’t break the skin. The neighbors came over later to make sure Lacy was all right.
Attack at the field
On Aug. 28, Conwell took Lacy out for one of her usual daily walks at Calvin Burrows Field. As he finished his loop and began walking down a steep hill, Bronson broke off his leash from the house nearby. Conwell said the dog knocked him over, and he rolled down the hill maybe 12 feet, by the stilts of a small building where announcers keep score at the games.
He got up next to Bronson, heard a horrible yelp, and saw Lacy in his jaws. Conwell said he jumped on the Pit Bull, punching him in the face as hard as he could, and the dog dropped Lacy and grabbed Conwell's arm. He reached for pepper spray but it didn't help.
Conwell tried to get between Lacy and the Pit Bull, and the dog grabbed his other arm, twisting and shaking it in his mouth.
“I just remember screaming,” he said.
Then somehow, he said he got Bronson's collar. “We started rolling around on the ground, and that tore my legs up from my knees to my toes,” he said.
They were on top of each other, wrestling on the ground, the dog on top of him, and Conwell said he started biting the dog’s chest. He said at one point he thought the dog might go for his throat. Then he bit the dog's ear.
“That hurt him I guess, because he came up and I got both hands on his collar and I pushed myself on my back. So now he’s on his back, on me, and I start pushing (us) up the hill,” Conwell said.
Bleeding and waiting for help
Then he spied about six feet of metal rope still attached to Bronson, and thought of a plan. He held the dog down with his legs, wrapped one end around the building post and pulled.
Blood was flowing out of his arms and he thought he was going to pass out. He knew the road was there, but he couldn’t see it, he said. And he began to cry out for help. Lacy had her eyes open, and sprinklers went on at the field. Water began running over her.
He lay there, bleeding, looking at Lacy. He knew he couldn't let go, or Bronson would finish her. Maybe 35, 40 minutes went by.
The Conwells know it was this long, because Ralph Conwell’s wife, Lorraine, knew when he left, and she was worried. The couple had an appointment to get a car, and she’d left the house looking for him. She went to the field but saw nothing, then figured he’d walked down Poquonnock Road.
A passerby stops
Meanwhile, Conwell lay on the field. A car went by with its windows closed and he called for help but the driver couldn't hear. Then Conwell remembers a second car, and it stopped.
He learned later that the man stopped because he saw water in the field where he thought it shouldn’t be, and decided to investigate. He hadn't heard Conwell yelling.
Then the passerby found Conwell and Lacy.
“And I remember saying, ‘I need an ambulance, a cop, and help my dog, Lacy down there,’” Conwell said.
Around this same time, Lorraine Conwell decided she was getting in her car and driving to look for her husband. And as she went to get in the car, two police cars and an ambulance, sirens blaring, passed her house and turned into the park. And she knew.
She ran across the street, and saw Ralph with his arms bleeding, his legs torn, being loaded into an ambulance. They wouldn’t let her near him, she said. Then she said the animal control officer picked up Lacy, wrapped her in a blanket, and put her in Lorraine Conwell’s arms.
The officer said she was taking Lacy to Companion Animal Hospital.
The woman who owned Bronson came to the park.
“Her husband was crying and saying ‘Oh my God.’ That’s all I heard all day long, was ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” Lorraine Conwell said.
Screaming in pain
Then Conwell’s son came to the house. Throughout the day, he brought her back and forth between Lawrence & Memorial and Companion Animal Hospital.
She said the doctor warned them it was bad, and when they first reached Ralph Conwell's room, he was screaming, 'I’m in pain,' she said.
Lorraine and Ralph Conwell have been married 53 years. She said she's never heard him like that. He was headed into surgery.
By evening, the doctors at Companion Animal Hospital told Lorraine Conwell Lacy wasn’t going to make it. She'd seen her several times, and Lacy had looked at her; but the dog was bleeding into her stomach. She said goodbye to Lacy.
She said she felt so alone.
Memories of Lacy
Lacy used to make a bed in the walk-in closet in their house, and she loved to wear clothes. She’d run to the window if someone approached the house, and always seemed to know which window was closest, so she was smart that way.
Her favorite toy was a football.
“Everyone loved her,” Ralph Conwell said.
Just this week, he’s been able to sleep. Probably five out of seven days now. It’s just that he thinks about how he should have been prepared for what happened, and how he wants other people to be prepared.
“If a Pit Bull comes after you right now, what are you going to do, really?” he said. “What’s your defense?”
Lorraine Conwell said the worst part of it all is having lost their dog, and knowing her husband feels like it's his fault.
“When he’s feeling better about things, then I’ll feel better about things,” she said. “But he’s blaming himself for everything.”
(Groton Patch - Oct 25, 2012)
Earlier:
Friday, October 5, 2012
Dog That Attacked Elderly Man in Groton Has Been Euthanized
CONNECTICUT --The Boxer-Pit Bull mix that attacked a 74-year-old man and killed his small dog in August has been euthanized, Groton Town Police confirmed.
Ralph Conwell was attacked Aug. 28 at Calvin Burrows Field in Groton, then brought to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. His small dog, a 3-year-old Silky Terrier named Lacy, died of her injuries at Companion Animal Hospital.
Animal Control Officer Donna Duso said the Boxer-Pit Bull was euthanized after a required 14-day quarantine to check for rabies.
Groton Police Lt. John Varone said the investigation is nearly complete and police are trying to determine what, if any, charges will be filed against the dog's owners.
The family had another dog, also a Boxer-Pit Bull Mix, that was turned over to animal control after the incident. That dog has been relocated, Varone said.
(Groton Patch - Oct 5, 2012)
Ralph Conwell was attacked Aug. 28 at Calvin Burrows Field in Groton, then brought to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. His small dog, a 3-year-old Silky Terrier named Lacy, died of her injuries at Companion Animal Hospital.
Animal Control Officer Donna Duso said the Boxer-Pit Bull was euthanized after a required 14-day quarantine to check for rabies.
Groton Police Lt. John Varone said the investigation is nearly complete and police are trying to determine what, if any, charges will be filed against the dog's owners.
The family had another dog, also a Boxer-Pit Bull Mix, that was turned over to animal control after the incident. That dog has been relocated, Varone said.
(Groton Patch - Oct 5, 2012)
Earlier:
Attack claims life of pet dog
AUSTRALIA -- A North Bundaberg woman has told of the frightening dog attack that claimed the life of her 11-year-old silky terrier.
Noelie Petersen, 75, was in the back yard of her Fairymead Rd home on Sunday with her dog, Sharnie, when she heard the neighbour's dog barking.
"That usually means there are other dogs in the street," she said.
"I saw the two large dogs, but before I could get Sharnie inside, she ran out to the front yard and one of the dogs just attacked and grabbed her."
Without thinking of her own safety, the 75-year-old threw herself at the attacking dog in an attempt to save her beloved companion.
"I was punching the dog to get it away from Sharnie," she said.
"I managed to throw the dog off, but before I could get inside, it came at us again."
Ms Petersen said she yelled for help, but there was no one else around. Eventually she managed to get herself and her dog inside.
Ms Petersen's daughter, Tanya Petersen, said she received a terrifying call from her mother.
"We live at Welcome Creek, so we flew into town and took Mum straight to emergency," she said.
Ms Petersen was treated for bites to her hand and leg before she returned home to phone a vet to treat her injured dog.
Sharnie also underwent surgery, but did not survive her horrific injuries.
The incident has been lodged with Bundaberg Regional Council, which is investigating the matter, but the dogs have not yet been located.
Ms Petersen is appealing for anyone who knows of the whereabouts of the dogs - which she described as a black collie-cross and a large, pale tan dog with long legs - to contact the council before someone else or another dog was injured or worse.
A council spokesman confirmed animal control staff would continue their investigations into the incident and would act on any public information regarding the dogs as a matter of priority.
Council health and regulatory services spokesman Wayne Honor said dog attack issues were taken very seriously.
"If they can, people should try to collect as much information as possible on a dangerous dog to help identify the animal," he said.
(Bundaberg News Mail - Oct 5, 2012)
Noelie Petersen, 75, was in the back yard of her Fairymead Rd home on Sunday with her dog, Sharnie, when she heard the neighbour's dog barking.
"That usually means there are other dogs in the street," she said.
"I saw the two large dogs, but before I could get Sharnie inside, she ran out to the front yard and one of the dogs just attacked and grabbed her."
Without thinking of her own safety, the 75-year-old threw herself at the attacking dog in an attempt to save her beloved companion.
"I was punching the dog to get it away from Sharnie," she said.
"I managed to throw the dog off, but before I could get inside, it came at us again."
Ms Petersen said she yelled for help, but there was no one else around. Eventually she managed to get herself and her dog inside.
Ms Petersen's daughter, Tanya Petersen, said she received a terrifying call from her mother.
"We live at Welcome Creek, so we flew into town and took Mum straight to emergency," she said.
Ms Petersen was treated for bites to her hand and leg before she returned home to phone a vet to treat her injured dog.
Sharnie also underwent surgery, but did not survive her horrific injuries.
The incident has been lodged with Bundaberg Regional Council, which is investigating the matter, but the dogs have not yet been located.
Ms Petersen is appealing for anyone who knows of the whereabouts of the dogs - which she described as a black collie-cross and a large, pale tan dog with long legs - to contact the council before someone else or another dog was injured or worse.
A council spokesman confirmed animal control staff would continue their investigations into the incident and would act on any public information regarding the dogs as a matter of priority.
Council health and regulatory services spokesman Wayne Honor said dog attack issues were taken very seriously.
"If they can, people should try to collect as much information as possible on a dangerous dog to help identify the animal," he said.
(Bundaberg News Mail - Oct 5, 2012)
Friday, August 31, 2012
Owner surrenders pit bull that kills dog, attacks elderly man
CONNECTICUT --The owner of the pit bull that attacked a 74-year-old Groton man and killed the dog he was trying to protect has given up any rights to the animal, police said Friday.
Detective Cmdr. Lt. John W. Varone said the dog has been surrendered. The pit bull is being kept at the animal control facility.
Ralph Conwell took his silky terrier, Lacy, out for a walk at the Calvin Burrows Field Tuesday morning and was returning to his South Road home when a neighbor's pit bull broke free from its chain and attacked them.
Conwell sustained severe injuries to his arms, while Lacy died of her injuries later that day.
Conwell was taken to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, where he is listed Friday morning in good condition.
Varone said the incident is still under investigation and declined to identify the pit bull's owner.
(The Day - August 31, 2012)
Detective Cmdr. Lt. John W. Varone said the dog has been surrendered. The pit bull is being kept at the animal control facility.
Conwell sustained severe injuries to his arms, while Lacy died of her injuries later that day.
Conwell was taken to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, where he is listed Friday morning in good condition.
Varone said the incident is still under investigation and declined to identify the pit bull's owner.
(The Day - August 31, 2012)
Earlier:
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Man hospitalized, dog killed in Pit Bull attack
CONNECTICUT -- A 74-year-old Groton man continued to recover from serious dog bites Wednesday at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, but the dog he was trying to protect died of injuries sustained in the Tuesday morning attack.
Lorraine Conwell said her husband, Ralph, took their silky terrier, Lacy, out for a walk at Calvin Burrows Field Tuesday morning and was returning to their South Road home when a neighbor’s pit bull broke free from its chain and attacked Ralph and Lacy.
“I think he picked her up and was trying to protect her,” Lorraine Conwell said. “That would explain why his arms are severely ripped open.”
Her husband was listed in stable condition Wednesday evening at L&M, a hospital spokesman said.
Conwell said her husband managed to grab the pit bull’s chain and wrap it around a post at the ball field, preventing the dog from escaping and possibly attacking others.
Conwell said Lacy weighed a little more than 8 pounds and was the “perfect dog.” The dog was taken to Companion Animal Hospital in Groton, where it died Tuesday.
Dr. Susan Hall, who treated Lacy, said Lacy had numerous injuries, including a 5-inch-long wound over her spine, bruising on her lungs, a swollen abdomen and a large gash on her thigh.
Hall said Lacy needed to undergo surgery, but she was never stable enough, as she was bleeding internally. The family decided to put her down so she wouldn’t have to endure any further suffering.
“We were really hoping that she would pull through after all Mr. Conwell did to save her,” Hall said. “Our hearts go out to the family. It has been hard on the whole staff. All you can do is hope for the best. She is now at peace.”
Conwell said the dog’s owner, whom she knew but did not identify, has a second pit bull. She said the pit bull that attacked her husband and dog had attacked them in the past. She said they didn’t notify police because her husband was “too nice” to report it.
Detective Cmdr. Lt. John W. Varone of the Groton Town police said the incident is under investigation but did confirm that the pit bull was not roaming. Varone said part of the investigation would include whether the dog has been involved in other incidents. The dog is being kept at the Groton animal control facility.
He did not say who owns the pit bull and whether any charges would be filed. The dog’s fate would be decided after the investigation is complete, Varone said.
Conwell said the pit bull’s owners have apologized, but for her, it’s a little too late.
“My husband is hurt and our beautiful dog is gone,” she said.
Conwell said her husband has a long road to recovery. She said his wounds have to remain open because the bacteria from the dog’s saliva could increase the risk of infection.
“I can’t even begin to talk about it,” she said of her husband’s injuries. “His wounds are wide open, skin is gone.”
Conwell said Lacy was like family. She used to dress her up in sweaters and night gowns. She even had a little bureau for her clothes.
“He’s blaming himself,” Conwell said. “It’s not his fault. If a pit bull is coming after you, there is nothing you can do.”
Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call animal control at (860) 441-6709 or the police department at (860) 441-6712.
(The Day - August 29, 2012)
Lorraine Conwell said her husband, Ralph, took their silky terrier, Lacy, out for a walk at Calvin Burrows Field Tuesday morning and was returning to their South Road home when a neighbor’s pit bull broke free from its chain and attacked Ralph and Lacy.
“I think he picked her up and was trying to protect her,” Lorraine Conwell said. “That would explain why his arms are severely ripped open.”
Her husband was listed in stable condition Wednesday evening at L&M, a hospital spokesman said.
Conwell said her husband managed to grab the pit bull’s chain and wrap it around a post at the ball field, preventing the dog from escaping and possibly attacking others.
Conwell said Lacy weighed a little more than 8 pounds and was the “perfect dog.” The dog was taken to Companion Animal Hospital in Groton, where it died Tuesday.
Dr. Susan Hall, who treated Lacy, said Lacy had numerous injuries, including a 5-inch-long wound over her spine, bruising on her lungs, a swollen abdomen and a large gash on her thigh.
Hall said Lacy needed to undergo surgery, but she was never stable enough, as she was bleeding internally. The family decided to put her down so she wouldn’t have to endure any further suffering.
“We were really hoping that she would pull through after all Mr. Conwell did to save her,” Hall said. “Our hearts go out to the family. It has been hard on the whole staff. All you can do is hope for the best. She is now at peace.”
Conwell said the dog’s owner, whom she knew but did not identify, has a second pit bull. She said the pit bull that attacked her husband and dog had attacked them in the past. She said they didn’t notify police because her husband was “too nice” to report it.
Detective Cmdr. Lt. John W. Varone of the Groton Town police said the incident is under investigation but did confirm that the pit bull was not roaming. Varone said part of the investigation would include whether the dog has been involved in other incidents. The dog is being kept at the Groton animal control facility.
He did not say who owns the pit bull and whether any charges would be filed. The dog’s fate would be decided after the investigation is complete, Varone said.
Conwell said the pit bull’s owners have apologized, but for her, it’s a little too late.
“My husband is hurt and our beautiful dog is gone,” she said.
Conwell said her husband has a long road to recovery. She said his wounds have to remain open because the bacteria from the dog’s saliva could increase the risk of infection.
“I can’t even begin to talk about it,” she said of her husband’s injuries. “His wounds are wide open, skin is gone.”
Conwell said Lacy was like family. She used to dress her up in sweaters and night gowns. She even had a little bureau for her clothes.
“He’s blaming himself,” Conwell said. “It’s not his fault. If a pit bull is coming after you, there is nothing you can do.”
Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call animal control at (860) 441-6709 or the police department at (860) 441-6712.
(The Day - August 29, 2012)
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Florida: Katarzyna Zalewski and her husband Marek Zalewski fined just $270 after their Pit Bulls kiled one pet, mauled another and mangled their owner's face
FLORIDA -- The Animal Care and Regulation Division in Broward County, Fla., says the owner of two pit bulls accused of attacking a woman and her dog has been fined $270.
Division spokeswoman Lisa Mendheim said Katarzyna Zalewski of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was fined for not having required rabies vaccination records and county pet licenses for her two pit bulls, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Friday.
Zalewski's pit bulls have been blamed for an attack on 25-year-old Kailen Gonzalez and three dogs she was walking with her brother, Carlos.
Gonzalez alleges Wednesday's attack by the pit bulls resulted in the death of her Silky terrier, Bella, while she suffered puncture wounds to her face.
Gonzalez's Jack Russell terrier, Milo, was seriously wounded in the attack, while Carlos Gonzalez and his dog were unharmed.
Mendheim told the Sun-Sentinel her division would review the details of the incident to determine if Zalewski's dogs, which have been taken into custody, should be euthanized.
(UPI - May 22, 2009)
Earlier:
Division spokeswoman Lisa Mendheim said Katarzyna Zalewski of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was fined for not having required rabies vaccination records and county pet licenses for her two pit bulls, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel said Friday.
Zalewski's pit bulls have been blamed for an attack on 25-year-old Kailen Gonzalez and three dogs she was walking with her brother, Carlos.
Gonzalez alleges Wednesday's attack by the pit bulls resulted in the death of her Silky terrier, Bella, while she suffered puncture wounds to her face.
Gonzalez's Jack Russell terrier, Milo, was seriously wounded in the attack, while Carlos Gonzalez and his dog were unharmed.
Mendheim told the Sun-Sentinel her division would review the details of the incident to determine if Zalewski's dogs, which have been taken into custody, should be euthanized.
(UPI - May 22, 2009)
Earlier:
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Florida: Victim Relives Terrible Pit Bull Attack. One pet killed, another injured and the owner's face mangled
FLORIDA -- A Victoria Park woman who was the victim of a horrific pit bull attack that killed one dog and left her and another dog injured is speaking out about her terrible ordeal.
Kailen Gonzalez, sporting nasty cuts and bruises on her face from the attack, told how the pit bulls relentlessly went after her and her pets on Wednesday night.
"They literally, we pulled them off, they went back, pulled them off, they came back," Gonzalez said. "They had collars on, the collars were pulled off their heads. Just nothing stopped them."
Gonzalez, 25, was taking her Jack Russell terrier, Milo, and a friend's Silky terrier named Bella out for a walk when two pit bulls came charging out of a nearby back yard.
After a terrifying struggle, Bella was dead and Milo seriously injured. Witnesses said the pit bulls, identified as a male and female named Bobby and Shelbi, were relentless in their attack.
"I saw what those dogs did to that woman...a little child, not to mention an adult, anyone would have no chance whatsoever," said neighbor Debbie London.
Though it's illegal to own pit bulls in Miami, they're not illegal in Broward County, though attacks like these may be changing peoples' minds.
Neighbors of the pit bulls, which reportedly belong to 53-year-old Katarzyna Zalewski and her husband Marek Zalewski, said they've filed several complaints against Zalewski, and they say it's not the dogs that are the problem, it's the owners.
"We were very uncomfortable as a matter of fact. Afterwards we actually went and spoke to the cops to make sure the dogs would be removed from the premises," said one concerned neighbor. "We walk our dogs everyday and we don't want to risk that happening to us."
Officials are still investigating the incident, and the fate of the two pit bulls is unknown, but the scars on Gonzalez and little Milo will take some time to heal.
"There's no way you can ever compare a pit bull to my Jack Russell. I mean, my Jack Russell would never do that to another dog, to a squirrel, to a mouse," Gonzalez said.
(NBC Miami - May 21, 2009)
Kailen Gonzalez, sporting nasty cuts and bruises on her face from the attack, told how the pit bulls relentlessly went after her and her pets on Wednesday night.
"They literally, we pulled them off, they went back, pulled them off, they came back," Gonzalez said. "They had collars on, the collars were pulled off their heads. Just nothing stopped them."
Gonzalez, 25, was taking her Jack Russell terrier, Milo, and a friend's Silky terrier named Bella out for a walk when two pit bulls came charging out of a nearby back yard.
After a terrifying struggle, Bella was dead and Milo seriously injured. Witnesses said the pit bulls, identified as a male and female named Bobby and Shelbi, were relentless in their attack.
"I saw what those dogs did to that woman...a little child, not to mention an adult, anyone would have no chance whatsoever," said neighbor Debbie London.
Though it's illegal to own pit bulls in Miami, they're not illegal in Broward County, though attacks like these may be changing peoples' minds.
Neighbors of the pit bulls, which reportedly belong to 53-year-old Katarzyna Zalewski and her husband Marek Zalewski, said they've filed several complaints against Zalewski, and they say it's not the dogs that are the problem, it's the owners.
"We were very uncomfortable as a matter of fact. Afterwards we actually went and spoke to the cops to make sure the dogs would be removed from the premises," said one concerned neighbor. "We walk our dogs everyday and we don't want to risk that happening to us."
Officials are still investigating the incident, and the fate of the two pit bulls is unknown, but the scars on Gonzalez and little Milo will take some time to heal.
"There's no way you can ever compare a pit bull to my Jack Russell. I mean, my Jack Russell would never do that to another dog, to a squirrel, to a mouse," Gonzalez said.
(NBC Miami - May 21, 2009)
Florida: Two loose pit bulls attack a woman, killed one of her dogs and seriously injured another one
FLORIDA -- The early evening tranquility of the Victoria Park neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale was shattered Wednesday by screams of terror when two pit bulls bit a woman, killed one of her dogs and seriously injured another one.
It was a moment that neighbors said they had been dreading after weeks of living in fear of the pit bulls that had moved into a house on the 500 block of Victoria Park Road. The dogs had been seen roaming the streets unleashed on previous occasions, neighbors said.
Kailen Gonzalez, 25, and her brother Carlos Gonzalez, 28, were walking their three dogs about 6 p.m. along the 500 block of Victoria Terrace when the two pit bulls charged out of their backyard.
"There was no mercy," said Carlos Gonzalez. "They were just attacking, attacking."
Kailen Gonzalez was trying to protect Bella, her Silky terrier, when one of the pit bulls bit her on the face, Carlos Gonzalez said.
By the time the attack ended, Bella was dead and Milo, Kailen's Jack Russell terrier, was seriously injured, Carlos Gonzalez said. Neither he nor his Silky terrier were bitten, but he said his sister probably will need plastic surgery on the puncture wounds on her left cheek.
A Broward County Animal Care and Regulation officer took the two pit bulls into custody. It was unclear Wednesday night whether the owner was cited.
The owner of the pit bulls refused to comment beyond saying, "I have enough pain, don't you think?"
(Sun Sentinel - May 21, 2009)
It was a moment that neighbors said they had been dreading after weeks of living in fear of the pit bulls that had moved into a house on the 500 block of Victoria Park Road. The dogs had been seen roaming the streets unleashed on previous occasions, neighbors said.
Kailen Gonzalez, 25, and her brother Carlos Gonzalez, 28, were walking their three dogs about 6 p.m. along the 500 block of Victoria Terrace when the two pit bulls charged out of their backyard.
"There was no mercy," said Carlos Gonzalez. "They were just attacking, attacking."
Kailen Gonzalez was trying to protect Bella, her Silky terrier, when one of the pit bulls bit her on the face, Carlos Gonzalez said.
By the time the attack ended, Bella was dead and Milo, Kailen's Jack Russell terrier, was seriously injured, Carlos Gonzalez said. Neither he nor his Silky terrier were bitten, but he said his sister probably will need plastic surgery on the puncture wounds on her left cheek.
A Broward County Animal Care and Regulation officer took the two pit bulls into custody. It was unclear Wednesday night whether the owner was cited.
The owner of the pit bulls refused to comment beyond saying, "I have enough pain, don't you think?"
(Sun Sentinel - May 21, 2009)
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