Southpinellas: Pack of greyhounds attacks man, dogs

Richard Graeber, 80, was out for a late-morning stroll Thursday with his two Yorkshire terriers and a miniature collie when the pack of dogs targeted the small dogs. The greyhounds knocked Graeber down when he tried to fight them off.

He found Graeber across Houston Lane in a ditch, struggling to free his pet from one of the greyhound's jaws, crying, "Help me, help me, my dog's dying. ... They're killing my dog. They're killing my dog."

"I jumped in the ditch," the teen said. "There was a little Yorkie in between these greyhounds and he was being ripped apart. ... They were kind of just pulling, like a tug-of-war situation."

As Graeber and Maraia wrestled with the two greyhounds in the ditch, one of the others ran off as another circled.

"He got the black dog off, and the other dog flung the little Yorkie around like a rag doll," Maraia said. "You couldn't even tell it was a dog."

Then Graeber stabbed the remaining dog in the neck with a pocket knife and "yanked his dog free," Tyler Maraia said.

The greyhounds retreated and the two men carried the Yorkie to Maraia's front yard and laid him down.

Maraia helped Graeber clean the blood off and, after paramedics treated the older man for bites to his hands, they went to look for his other dogs, which had run away. Family members later took Graeber to the hospital.

Maraia said Graeber's wife "became pretty hysterical" when she arrived. She kept crying, "My little Cha Cha."

The greyhounds - Iris, Dakota, Rachel, Max and Tootsie - belong to Mike Eisbacher and his wife, Katherine Koufas-Eisbacher, who have worked with greyhound rescue for 15 years.

"I'm so sorry it happened," Eisbacher said Thursday. "I've just been crying all afternoon. ... A pall has come over this house. I've never been involved with something like this. ... I'm so humiliated. I feel so bad for the man."

Eisbacher said the dogs are not vicious, but greyhounds were developed to hunt small prey.

Eisbacher said he's not sure how the greyhounds got out. His best guess is that they saw Graeber walk his dogs by the house and started jumping against the door, which has a lever-style handle. Eisbacher said he thinks one of the dogs hit the handle and the door popped open.

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by Cheng	12/24/07 01:43 PM
I hope people also read the comment from greyhound's nieghbor, he point out old man always let his 3 little dogs running loose disobey the "leash law"....Sorry for his lost but himself is the one should be blame not Greyhouds in this sad situation...

by rick	12/24/07 12:04 PM
rose you're wrong. are you saying that if this 80 yr old man had his dogs on a leash they'd still be alive? the dogs do what they were bred for but the owners are responsible to control their dogs. they'll be put down.

by christina	12/22/07 11:18 AM
Sorry for old man lost his dog, greyhounds can be blame, but not punish by put to sleep.That's nature of animal,let's put double locks on the door and give them another chance.It's Holiday have some mercy.

by john	12/22/07 05:58 AM
And Sal why we are at it put all the greyhound dog track watchers in there as well because if it wasn't for there need to bet on racing then we wouldn't have this.

by Melissa	12/22/07 03:10 AM
Greyhounds are not vicious. I have owned up to three Greyhounds at a time. The problem seems to be when owners of small dogs let their dogs run free without a leash. Also, did he not live in the neighborhood, did he not know they hunt small prey?

by Rose	12/21/07 10:53 PM
The elderly man refuses to walk his dogs on a leash. They were intentionally loose and this is what happens when animals are loose. Let's do what we can to all be responsible pet owners. Keep our dogs on LEASH and do our best to keep them insid

by Mike N	12/21/07 10:52 PM
This Eisbacher guy has mulitple large dogs so how about installing round door knobs, how hard would that have been? Instead an 80 year man watches his dog get torn asunder and ends up at the hospital. Just terrible.

by JSP	12/21/07 05:19 PM
There is a lease law in Pinellas County, These dogs should be put down and the owners charged. As Sal says Flat out...Whatever breed of dogs they are they are killer dogs. What if it was you or I out there? The owner is responsible for their actions.

by Eirc	12/21/07 02:00 PM
Jan you are ignorant! this goes to show you dogs are dogs and they can attack no matter what breed they are. you are probably one of the ones who say only black people commit crimes. punish the deed not the breed!

by Sal	12/21/07 12:55 PM
The owners should be charged and the dogs put down. Flat out...

by louise	12/21/07 12:14 PM
greyhounds are trained with live rabbits. they are drugged and treated badly. stop greyhound racing. rescues had a bad life so i can see how this can happen.

by Rebekah	12/21/07 12:08 PM
More than three dogs is actually a pack. How do packs of animals behave? To say the dogs are "vicious" is inaccurate - dogs are animals despite domestication. Greyhounds are bred to catch and hunt. How many of you pay money to watch them do so?

by Jan	12/21/07 11:56 AM
These are Greyhounds people, not pitballs, they are trained to chase small prey. They are well manared dogs and there is no way this could have been predicted! Certainly sad for both parties involved however. God Bless Greyhound Rescue!

by dawn	12/21/07 11:37 AM
Any dog involved in this attack should be euthanized. There is no room in society for dogs that attack people or domestic animals, especially other dogs. I don't think the Eisbachers should be doing dog rescue.

by TANYA	12/21/07 11:35 AM
HOW VERY SAD....FOR ALL INVOLVED...GREYHOUNDS ARE WONDERFUL LOVING DOGS, ACCIDENTS JUST HAPPEN,IT'S HARD TO MAKE SENSE OF IT. SO VERY SAD FOR THE FAMILY THAT LOST THEIR FURBABY..A BLAME SHOULD NOT BE PLACED..IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!!!

by susan	12/21/07 10:11 AM
my heart goes out to the Graebers. The Eisbachers should not be in rescue if they cannot properly lock up the animals and now those dogs probably will be put down. some rescue. i own greys and was shocked to hear about this but not totally surprised.

by Ronda	12/21/07 09:28 AM
This is so sad- Mr. & Mrs. Graeber our thoughts & prayers are with your little guy-hoping for fast & safe recovery

by Bill	12/21/07 08:57 AM
So tragic. I am a dog lover and although this type of thing happens, it is sad that both sides have a loss here. Owners of larger dogs have to be mindful of the potential liability that exists; local law should be made and enforced to protect others.

by Kevin	12/21/07 08:49 AM
He says the dogs are not vicious. I wonder how he defines vicious? What a way to see your companion go. If the man had been holding a cane sword, would he be holding a concealed weapon? I know if he had pulled out a pistol he would be in jail today.

by Frank	12/21/07 08:41 AM
We can only hope that these dogs will be put down before a Child or adult is injured or killed!

by Joe	12/21/07 08:21 AM
This is terrible, what do you expect when you teach greyhound to chase rabbits there whole life. Just Terrible

by Terri	12/21/07 07:59 AM
Greyhounds are pack dogs trained from a very young age by racing farms to relentlessly pursue a small animal otherwise they won't race the track. This doesn't diminish Graeber's sad loss but it is an indictment of man's need for a betting sport.

by diana	12/21/07 07:52 AM
there is is this new thing they sell in stores it is called a lock! feel so sorry for the gentleman ans his wife. this took a few years off his life.

by Jim	12/21/07 07:04 AM
This article didn't mention whether or not the dogs would be put down for this. What's happening with that?

by Linda	12/21/07 05:59 AM
What a sad story. I feel so bad for that poor man. Do we now need tasers when we go out for a walk in Seminole?

Pack of greyhounds attacks man, dogs

An 80-year-old man is knocked down as the pack tears into one of his Yorkshire terriers.