Name: Ellie Mac
Victim: Pet
Location: Our back yard less than 3 ft. from our back door, Georgia
Year of attack: 2020

Tell us about the attack
My Goldendoodle was attacked in our backyard, mere feet from our back door, by a pit bull from our neighbor’s place. The neighbor was supposed to be watching her new beau’s dog, Sinister, but was neglecting her job as the pit bull was at our back door when my spouse & our Goldendoodle Paddy walked outside. After waking up to the sound of my dog, not yet even 2 years old, wailing loudly in pain, I ran to the window above the source of the sounds, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sight so I could better discern what to expect if I ran down to Paddy, but I couldn’t see anything. Assuming my spouse to be dead, I tried to think of where my father’s firearm was (nobody was in the house but me), but I was frozen with fear.

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
Though Paddington is the most sociable and friendliest dog I’ve ever seen when it comes to his desire to play with other dogs and greet and get to know them, we now deny him that chance despite how sad it makes him because we are too scared of another attack.

Legal Consequences
The owner was required to relinquish the pit bull for 10 days to animal control for our county for 10 days for an observation period. We spoke with the head of the department who said the pit bull showed no signs of rabies, which was the concern because the attack was completely unprovoked. Though Sinister did not have rabies, because his owner said this was his first sign of violence or attack in the 9 years he’d owned him, the county decided to allow the pit bull to be rehomed anywhere the pit bull owner wished and could prove. We do not know where Sinister lives now, whether or not there are children or other dogs on the property, but we know there are not any requirements prohibiting the pit bull from being around children or other animals. The pit bull owner was not fined, and so far no civil action has been taken.

We are considering taking the neighbors to civil court, though we will probably not pursue this course because we both have the same landlord and do not wish to jeopardize my father’s retirement living situation, and because the woman who was at fault for being negligent and allowing her boyfriend’s pit bull to trespass onto our backyard claims to have a personal relationship with our shared landlord’s family, we fear the landlord will choose to have my father and our household evicted (pandemic protocol not considered).

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
Have the courage to hold yourself accountable for your mistakes when they hurt others & don’t offer to pay for all medical and veterinary expenses related to the attack only to renege as soon as you realize it will be much more than a mere euthanasia bill as you clearly assumed. My spouse’s ability to think quickly on his feet and keep Sinister from reaching Paddy’s throat saved his life for the duration of the onslaught, and I’m sorry the defensive wound Sinister incurred was necessary. I’m glad your children were not home to witness this. The bacteria Sinister transferred to Paddington’s bloodstream via his bite caused a severe infection that almost killed him. The bills were over 5 grand, & it took a month for him to fight off the infections. Karma will come around, & you are awful folk.