Man Says He ‘Thought He Was Going to Die’ While Being Attacked by Two Dogs
Sep 15, 2019, 10:36 PM | Updated: Sep 16, 2019, 11:03 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Animal control officers are looking for two pit bulls who attacked a Salt Lake City man. The alleged victim said what he’s most upset about is that the dogs’ owners didn’t try to stop the attack right away.
It happened near 300 East and 1900 South on Wednesday night around midnight.
Gary, who only wanted to be identified by his first name, said he was walking his dog Daisy when he saw another dog running toward them out of the corner of his eye.
“She’s not small and she’s strong too, but she didn’t stand a chance,” said Gary, describing his own dog.
He said the pit bull attacked Daisy first, but then immediately went for his leg and latched on to his inner thigh. While he was trying to fight it off, Gary said a second pit bull attacked him.
“It jumped up and grabbed me in the ribs and pulled me to the ground,” Gary said.
The attack lasted only seconds but felt much longer. Gary said he was terrified for his life.
“I didn’t know what to do. I was trying my best to fight them off but with how fast they were and how strong they were, I knew I wasn’t going to win,” he said. “I was just screaming for help. I thought I was going to die.”
What’s worse, Gary said, is that the owners didn’t try to get their dogs off him right away.
“I was screaming for help and nobody came,” he said. “They just watched.”
Eventually, though, the attack stopped and Gary said he looked up to see the owners holding the dogs back.
“They weren’t saying anything, didn’t ask me if I was OK,” said Gary.
He said he picked up Daisy and ran. Once he was safely home he called the police. They sent animal control out to look for the dogs, to no avail.
Gary showed KSL the puncture wounds and the bruising still very visible on his thigh and on his ribs, four days after the attack. Daisy wears a cone on her head to protect the injuries on her hind leg.
Gary is upset about the attack, but even more upset with the dogs’ owners.
“They were walking two pit bulls off leash that were very aggressive and they waited so long to do something,” he said. “If it had gone on a few more seconds, I was on the ground, they would have killed me.”
Gary described one of the dogs as dark with a lot of black in its coat. He said the other one is a gray-brown color.
Anyone with information is asked to call Salt Lake County Animal Control. Officers also want to remind dog owners that it is against the law for dogs to be off-leash while being walked in neighborhoods.
