Northpinellas: Pit bull in attack has record of violence

Pit bull in attack has record of violence

The dog, named Brutus, attacked a woman's Labrador last week. Officials say it also bit someone on January.

By LEON M. TUCKER

CLEARWATER -- The dog's back hind legs shook as he staggered slowly across the grass.

With chunks of flesh and black fur missing from his neck, back and legs, 6-year-old Thunder let out a whimper as he plopped down Monday.

The black Labrador retriever was in pain.

"Thunder always looks at you and smiles," said DeAnn Rhodus, Thunder's owner. "I hope he doesn't lose that."

Thunder was injured four days earlier, when he was attacked by two neighborhood pit bulls while on an early morning walk with Rhodus, officials said.

At about 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Rhodus said she and Thunder were a half-block from her Shelley Street home when she saw a cat dart across the road. Seconds later two pit bulls followed but stopped in the street when they noticed the dog and owner.

"These dogs did not growl, did not bark," she said. "They just came after me."

Rhodus said while the dogs charged, Thunder took position in front of her. The bigger of the two dogs lunged at Thunder and snapped his jaws onto the side of his neck while the smaller latched on to his left hind leg.

Rhodus, still holding the leash, screamed for help.

"I was screaming: "God help me, somebody's got my dog,' " Rhodus said. "They just attacked, and they would not let go. I kicked and punched those dogs as hard as I could without worrying about getting bit. They would not let go. They were on a mission to kill."

Rhodus said motorist Kevin Womack arrived in his Ford Explorer and sprang into action.

Womack, who was unavailable for comment, pulled up and told Rhodus to get in the passenger side of his sport utility vehicle. He told her to steer while he accelerated in hopes of shaking the dogs off Thunder.

After a few moments, Rhodus yelled at Womack to stop the vehicle, which was headed onto a busy Old Coachman Road. The smaller pit bull fell away. The larger dog, however, attached his jaws to Thunder's back as the truck turned into a Shell gas station parking lot. Then the smaller dog rejoined the fray.

At that moment, Mark Goodworth was pulling in to buy gas.

"At first I thought I saw a couple people standing there and their dogs were playing," Goodworth, of Tampa, said. "But when I saw Kevin yelling to get the dogs off I knew something was up."

Goodworth, who services cable systems for Time Warner, ran to his truck and grabbed a four-foot A-frame ladder he used to help fight off the dogs.

"I tried banging my ladders around. That didn't scare the pit bulls at all," Goodworth said. "Then I hit him about four or five and them I jabbed him once real good in the face. That's when he let go."

Goodworth said when the pit bull released its grip on Thunder, Womack put Thunder in the bed of his truck. He then said the larger dog started to circle the area but was scared away when Goodworth threw his ladder at him.

The larger dog, who shelter officials say is named Brutus, was picked up on Saturday and placed in an quarantined area of the Pinellas County Animal Services shelter, where he will be monitored for rabies until Oct. 17. If the dog does not die within the 10 days it is quarantined, officials said, it does not have the disease.

But Brutus could have a bigger problem.

"We tracked the dog and found out that he had bitten someone else in January," said Dr. Kenny Mitchell, director of veterinary services for the shelter. "We are going to see what the situation was on that one. But with that compounded with another act of aggression we could consider that dog dangerous."

Brutus' owner, Joseph Kelly of 2460 Nash St., could not be reached for comment.

County ordinance calls for the destruction of animals considered dangerous by shelter officials, who will determine whether the previous bite was substantial enough to warrant Brutus' destruction and are waiting for a response from the last person bitten.

Rhodus said Brutus' owner has not contacted her since the attack.

"These people are not responsible dog owners," Rhodus said. "If it were my dog I would have called and asked what I could do to help, offer to pay their dog's veterinary bill. They've done nothing. These dogs don't belong in a neighborhood."