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Spring Hill kennel owner, 72, is killed by dog
By WILL VAN SANT SPRING HILL -- A female pit bullterrier being boarded at Four Paws kennel attacked and killed the business' 72-year-old owner Friday. Authorities say Alfred D. Makuc, who had worked with dogs more than half his life, was discovered in a pool of blood inside the kennel by his wife, Virginia, 73, and a customer checking on her dog. Makuc had been alone at the kennel, which sits behind his home on State Road 50, for an undetermined amount of time before being found, authorities said. "There was a significant amount of blood loss," said Hernando County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Joe Paez. "That was evident from what was in the kennel." According to Paez, it appears that Mukac was attacked by the dog at the entrance to its cage, suggesting the cage gate had been briefly opened. Paez said Mukac seemed to have gotten away from the attacking dog and shut the animal back inside. Mukac suffered multiple bite wounds, Paez said, and was alive at the time he was found but died a few hours after being rushed to Oak Hill Hospital. A card attached to the dog's cage states the animal, named Almond, is owned by a New York family or individual by the name of Durant who brought the animal to the kennel Feb. 1. Paez said investigators were using the lead to track down the animal's owner or owners. Officials said the animal was very aggressive when they arrived. It was tranquilized by county animal control workers before being taken from the kennel. "She's covered in blood and acting really nasty," said animal control officer Arlene Ballenger shortly after leading the drugged dog into a van. Among those at the scene while law enforcement officers worked was Betty Jackson, who said Mukac and his wife had been handling her dogs in competition for several years, and that the man was skilled. "He's always been an excellent person with dogs," Jackson said. "He would go near dogs I wouldn't go near." Mukac's wife, Virginia, also said her husband was wonderful when it came to handling dogs, and she could not understand what had gone wrong. "He has been doing it since 1961," she said. -- Will Van Sant covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com .
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