Mailman in Critical Condition After Dog Mauling
By Andy Cerota, ABC13 Eyewitness News
July 08, 2004, HOUSTON - He's lucky to be alive - that's what a passerby had to say after he saved a mailman from the jaws of a pit bull. The attack happened Thursday afternoon as the postman was delivering mail to a home in the Heights.
Eyewitness Barney Allen recalled, "He had a big gash out of his leg. Both arms… He was totally bloody. It probably got him a couple, two or three times. He was trying to throw rocks from over here to get him off of him."
Allen not only saw the mailman who was mauled by the pit bull, he may have saved his life.
"I just happened to be driving down the street and saw the dog attack him," he said. "So I turned around. I guess the sound of the truck scared the dog back inside."
The gate to the family's yard was open, so the postman walked in to drop off the mail. He thought the dog was securely chained up, but suddenly realized he was wrong.
Anita Smith with the U.S. Postal Service said, "When he put the mail in the box, the dog kept coming, the chain kept coming and that's when he noticed and the dog attacked him."
So he ran.
But as much as he tried to fight, the dog was just too strong.
"Then when the carrier got out of the ditch he ran," Smith said. "(Tried to) block him in with his vehicle."
When it was over, police arrived and talked to the family, who couldn't provide authorities with proof that their pet was licensed or vaccinated. They chose not to hand the dog over to animal control on the spot, but have 24 hours to do so.
Animal Control Officer Stanley Cobb told Eyewitness News, "Even if the animal is vaccinated, it still has to be quarantined because rabies is a virus and no vaccine is 100 percent."
And even though it'll be a while before the postman is back in this neighborhood delivering mail, at least he can.
"If (Allen) had not turned around and came back to help him, he would not have made it," Smith said.
Once the dog is handed over to animal control, it will be quarantined for 10 days. Its owners could face civil charges, but not criminal charges. The postal service says its letter carriers are periodically trained on how to fight off dangerous dogs.
