Name: Susan Terzo
Victim: Adult, Pet
Location: Public Sidewalk, Florida
Year of attack: 2022

Tell us about the attack

I was walking both of my miniature poodles at 7 a.m. as we did every morning for the past 2.5 years. My dogs were both on leashes. They stopped to sniff the grass and were just enjoying the smells. All of a sudden a very large pit bull appeared out of nowhere. The pit was very quiet and then without warning, noise or growling, just grabbed one of my dogs and picked her up like a rag doll.

I was screaming “Help Me!” and fighting with this beast. He bit me in the process. A man came out to help me, but it was impossible for either one of us to get the pit bull to release my dog. After he killed her and left her on the ground, the owner came out. He muzzled the pit bull and used my leash (as he did not have one) to take the dog away. I called a friend who rushed me to the emergency vet, but my dog was dead.

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
I cannot unsee what happened. I have nightmares that wake me up in the middle of the night. I avoid all other dogs. My surviving dog has PTSD too. He wouldn’t walk on a leash for a while. I had to get another dog to help him with his anxiety. Life has not been the same since the death of our family member. I take very short walks now and carry a stun gun and bear spray. I have scars to remind me everyday of the fight I had with this monster.

Legal Consequences
After investigating, I found out that this dog had two prior attacks in a neighboring county. I had my animal control department contact the other counties and they confirmed it is the same pit bull.

The pit bull has been declared dangerous. Animal control gave him citations for not following the mandates for a dangerous dog. As of three weeks ago when animal control checked, the pit bull was still at home, a block from where I live. It will take a long time for animal control to ask the court to hand over the animal. The owner is unwilling. I hope nobody else gets hurt while we sit here and wait.

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
Walk with a weapon and don’t relax until you are in a safe place. No place is safe as long as pit bulls are allowed to be family pets in our communities.