Name: KL
Victim: Adult
Location: North Carolina
Year of attack: 2017

Tell us about the attack

I was in my yard, on my side of the fence (which is mine), telling my neighbor he could not put nails into the posts sideways because it splits the posts (he was doing this because his pit bull was knocking down the fence.) I had my finger over the top of a 6’ post when the pit bull jumped from one side of the guy to the other side, grabbed the end of my finger, shredded the underside of my index finger, and took the whole nail off. I didn’t know it until the pain hit. He said the pit bull had its shots but he lied. He said he would pay my doctor’s bills but stopped talking to me when animal control came to his house and took his pit bull for 10 days because it didn’t have its shots. The pit bull came back home and nothing changed: after multiple calls, they finally had the hearing. The pit bull was found to be dangerous.

How has your life changed as a result of the attack?
I have PTSD when I hear dogs barking. I cannot feel the end of my finger: the finger is deformed, the nerves are gone. I cannot pick things up using that finger (like a coin). I cannot tie anything: like my child’s shoes, etc. I have trigger finger in the middle finger of that same hand.

My daughter would not go out in the back yard (or the front really) since that happened. And 1-1/2 years later the pit bull got loose and mauled a small dog that was being walked on a leash past his house. It did $300 worth of damage to that small dog. Nothing was done until I stayed on Animal Control for six months, and they gave him another fine. The pit bull should have been put down because he violated all the laws more than once. The law said if there were two more violations after the dangerous dog declaration was in place, it would be euthanized.

Legal Consequences
Owner fined and the dog was labeled a dangerous dog.

He had to put three signs up on his fence stating “beware of dog.” He appealed the finding. Both of us had to appear in “court” to be sworn in and tell our side of the story to see if the declaration stood. The declaration stood he had to keep the signs up. He was supposed to be outside with the pit bull when it went outside but he didn’t. I showed a video of my fence and the pit bull was on the other side barking and clawing at the fence, and you can hear the owner open the screen door, call the pit bull telling it to come inside. I showed the video. They said I’d have to show pictures of the pit bull being outside without the owner. I said I called animal control and the lady in the room came, he admitted the pit bull was outside, and they said she had the final decision. Nothing was ever done.

What would you like people to know as a result of your attack?
The law did not help me. I have permanent nerve damage to my finger and it’s deformed. The guy got away with not doing anything about the pit bull. Every time I tell this story I feel helpless and hopeless all over again.