Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Man uses feet to fight off, trap attacking pit bulls

OHIO -- A man on a family walk Monday night with his wife, their 2-year-old daughter and the family German short hair pointer ended up fighting off two attacking pit bulls that left his pet with several bites and him with scratches to his legs.

John Riegel, who managed to coax the dogs into chasing him after he kicked one of them, led them to his backyard where he said he was able to pen them in until a Montgomery County Animal Resource Center officer came to round up the dogs and take them away.

Two pit bulls got out of this home on Ashland Avenue
and attacked a family out on a walk in the neighborhood.

“As we were walking down the street, two pit bulls burst out of a house and attacked my dog and myself,” said Riegel, who lives in the city’s Belmont neighborhood.  “I was able to run home and separate them from my wife and child.”

The ARC officer offered no comment, but did confirm to News Center 7 videographer Jim Noelker that the pit bulls would be detained at the county facility and that their owner would be cited.

Neighbors have had a lot of problems with the dogs in the past, Riegel said. “They’ve gotten out several times, chasing people around. People in the neighborhood are just sick of it.

"I wasn’t scared for me. My wife had my 2-year-old in a stroller… she weighs about 30 pounds and one of those pit bulls could have taken her down pretty easily," Riegel said.

His dog was bitten several times. Riegel said he was scratched several times. “Nothing  severe. I was able to kick the dog several times to get it off mine.

"I was put in a position tonight where I had to kick this dog a couple of times, and thankfully it backed off, although it did continue to chase us. When people don’t take care of them, they are a real danger."

The owner of the dogs told News Center 7 that the dogs have been returned. The owner also said that he feels terrible about the incident, and said that the dogs do not get out often. He told News Center 7 that there has only been one other incident where the a dog got out.

(WHIO - March 26, 2012)

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