Dog attacks investigated to keep your family safe

Americans love their dogs; all breeds, all sizes. Many people cannot imagine life without their four-legged friend. And, for the most part, they do add great enjoyment to the lives of their owners. But, as we have seen in our area over the past months, some dogs can also be very dangerous.

CBS Local 2 Stands for You in staying safe from vicious dog attacks. For one Coachella Valley woman, a dog attack still lives on in the form of nightmares. A quick warning, some of the pictures in Tuesday night’s report, which airs at 11 p.m., show dog bites on the victim’s arm that could prove unsettling for some.

Manny Guerra, a dog trainer, has loved dogs ever since he was a little boy. He works with all breeds at the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. On any given day, there are some 500 animals, usually about 200 dogs, waiting for adoption.

With gentile names like Hillary, Roanne and Butter, many are pit bulls, a breed that has long suffered a reputation for aggressiveness, due in part to being bred and trained for fighting. Across the country, pit bulls are the most commonly euthanized dog breed. But the Palm Springs Animal Shelter is a no-kill facility.

In fact, Guerra feels it is only in the rarest of cases that a dog that attacks a human should be put down. But he also knows that dog attacks can prove fatal.

Just two months ago a 65-year-old man was mauled and killed by two pit bulls outside his North Shore home. His 57-year-old neighbor was nearly killed when the dogs returned to the area after the initial attack. Those dog attacks led to a Department of Animal Services sweep in the North Shore and Mecca areas; resulting in the capture of 34 stray and loose dogs.

While acknowledging that their strong bites can be dangerous, even deadly, veterinarian and Palm Springs Animal Shelter Director Shayda Ahkami defends the often maligned pit bulls.

“It’s how they’re treated when they’re young, just like human beings, any breed of dog, it is how you treat them and train them,” Shayda said.

But statistics clearly show that pit bulls can be deadly. So far this year, 28 people have died from dog attacks in the U.S. — 23 of those attacks were by pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

If you unfortunately happen to be a victim of a dog attack, the psychological and physical effects can be long-lasting. It happened to Leah Swarthout of La Quinta in January.

“I was walking Dusty Rose [her labradoodle] and at the end of the block there was a girl with two dogs on leashes,” Swarthout said. “The dogs turned around and when they did, they spotted us and broke loose from her.”

A pit bull and a boxer raced toward Swarthout and her dog. The boxer backed off, but not the pit bull, which ground its teeth into the belly of then-8-month-old Dusty Rose.

Swarthout and the pit bull’s owner tried to dislodge the animal from Dusty Rose, but the pit bull held on tight.

“So I reached around the nose of the dog and pulled him right off of her and that’s when it turned and clamped down on my right arm,” Leah said. “I was sitting on the ground looking at the pit bull and thank God two construction guys came over from across the street and got the dog off of me,” she added.

Swarthout said she doesn’t even like to think about what might have happened had it not been for the construction workers. She suffered deep bite marks on her right arm that left scarring, and even ten months later, nerve damage limits her dexterity.

She still has nightmares of the attack. Dusty Rose required 14 stitches to her bell. When she walks her dog now, Swarthout carries a taser.

Her advice to dog walkers, and women in particular, “Be very careful, look to see your surroundings, walk with something, whether it’s mace, a taser, a club of some kind…but just be very aware of your surroundings, be very careful,” she added.

The dog that attacked Swarthout was not put down, although she feels it should have been. The dog’s owner moved out of the neighborhood shortly after the attack, but lives just a few miles away.

Swarthout said the woman still has the dog. She did have to pay a $100 fine, the dog must live in a steel cage and wear a mussel when walked.

Swarthout has a lawsuit seeking damages pending. Yet, despite the vicious attack, she doesn’t indict the entire pit bull breed.

“I know there are a lot of sweet pit bulls out there, just be careful and train them properly,” she said.

She is pleased that La Quinta has adopted new rules for dogs. They include a ban on backyard breeding, obedience classes for dogs that bite, and mandatory microchipping of all canines to more easily locate owners.

But La Quinta City Council stopped short of requiring that all dogs that bite be euthanized.

Swarthout knows she was lucky.

“If they didn’t get that pit bull off of me, I could have lost my arm or it could have been damaged worse,” she said.

Now she usually avoids walking in residential areas, fearing a dog could come out of a garage or yard. She also likes to have her husband accompany her and Dusty Rose. But even this vicious attack, and its lingering impacts, won’t change one thing for her.

“You’re still a dog lover, I’m still a dog lover, that won’t change,” Swarthout concluded.

In a special report airing at 11 p.m. Tuesday on CBS Local 2, we look into what you can do to keep yourself and your family safe and what the county is doing to prevent future stray dog attacks.