Two pit bulls were caught on tape attacking a bichon frise in Fort Collins and biting its owner on the hand as she tried to fight them off.
Jacqueline Harris was bitten Wednesday after the pit bulls chased and attacked her 10-pound dog Louie, she said.
Harris said investigators with the Larimer County Humane Society are looking for the owners of the pit bulls.
“They’re trying to find out who the dogs belong to so we can figure out if the dog, who bit me, has rabies or not,” Harris said.
The Humane Society didn’t return calls Monday.
Harris was bitten on the hand, around the base of her thumb, as she tried to pull Louie out of one pit bull’s mouth.
The incident happened at about 4 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of South Summit View Drive, Harris said.
Harris, a business owner, had brought Louie to work; he was in the garage with the garage door open.
Two young men were walking two pit bulls when the dogs spotted the bichon. The pit bulls made a beeline for Louie, and the bichon ran out of the garage to get away from them, Harris said.
None of the dogs were leashed at the time.
Harris and the two men who were walking the pit bulls chased the three dogs and caught up to them.
As one pit bull clamped onto Louie, one of the men poured Gatorade on its head and the dog let go. Harris had been trying to pry Louie loose, and after the bichon was free, the pit bull bit Harris in the hand, she said.
“The worst part was I was bleeding pretty bad, and the two guys were very quick to say, ‘Oh, your dog is fine,’ ” Harris recalled. “I was bleeding, and they said, ‘Are you OK?’ ”
Harris said the men told her they were going to put their dogs away — secure them — and then help her out. But they never returned, she said.
Harris went to emergency care and got three stitches in her hand, she said. Louie, who was bruised and bitten, was treated by a veterinarian and released.
Ralph Campana, a neighbor of Harris in the business park, was upset by the incident.
“She got hurt pretty bad,” Campana said. “It’s just not right what happened.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
