Aurora – Two men were attacked by pit bulls in separate incidents at the same address Sunday and Monday, just days before a city committee meets about banning pit bulls.
Jose Simental, 36, was mauled by four dogs Sunday as he left a duplex at 1922 Dallas St. in northeast Aurora. Simental suffered bite wounds on his chest, arms and legs and was hospitalized until Tuesday.
On Monday, landlord Brady Meeks, 29, was bitten by one of the pit bulls as he tried to collect rent.
The dogs were being harbored in Aurora because their original owners live in Denver, where the breed is banned.
“I was fighting for my life,” said Simental, who stood Tuesday afternoon outside his Aurora apartment, leaning against a makeshift cane made from a blue broomstick.
Simental, a husband and a father of two girls, had come to the duplex to work on one of the residents’ cars. But they didn’t have the money for the repair. As he was leaving, the dogs lunged at him from behind.
They pulled him to the ground. He tried to fight them off, protecting his face, and was bitten on the arms and legs, he said.
“They were trying to eat me,” he said.
A friend rushed to his aid, beating the dogs with a tire iron.
The attacks could be factors when Aurora’s code enforcement and redevelopment committee meets Friday to discuss the costs of a ban.
In a previous meeting, the committee decided to ban only new pit bulls and allow existing dogs to stay but under strict rules.
Now, these new attacks and the likely costs of the ban are making at least one City Council member rethink the plan.
“It feels like we’re making all these accommodations to make it work for these things,” said Councilwoman Molly Markert, chairwoman of the code enforcement committee. “Just ban them.”
The dogs’ owner, Antoinette Rivers, was cited for 15 misdemeanors, including keeping dangerous dogs and failure to license or inoculate the dogs. Each count carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and a year in jail.
The dogs were impounded, and a hearing is set for 10 a.m. Sept. 21 where a judge will determine their fate.
Now, Simental can barely walk. He takes painkillers and must wait until Thursday to get stitches because the wounds are too messy.
He has bandages on his arms and legs. Teeth marks can be seen on his shoulders, behind his ear and on his chest.
“I cried when my wife tried to clean my hands,” he said. “The pain is so terrible. I would like it if they took all of these pit bulls away.”
Simental didn’t tell animal control officers about the attack until Monday. Just as Aurora officials learned about the attack, they were told of the other one.
“That must be why they got there so fast,” said Meeks, who said one of the dogs rushed at him and bit his left thigh.
“Those people are getting evicted. I’ve told them to get rid of the dogs. They should have never had the dogs there in the first place.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
