Women Hailed as Heroes After Rottweiler Attack
Updated 2:57 PM PST, Fri, Nov 6, 2009
While other people watched, two North County women aided the victim of a vicious mauling.
Vista sixth-grader Clayton "C.J." Snow, 11, was walking to class at about 9 a.m. Friday when two Rottweilers on the loose attacked him behind Rancho Buena Vista High School, reported the North County Times.
Keely Garcia was driving her daughter to school when she saw the attack. She got out of her car and called for help. Deidre Smith, a Vista kindergarten teacher, also saw the attack and got out of her car. The women tried to shield the boy, but the dogs would go around them or jump on top of them to renew their attack on the boy, who was bitten 40 times and required dozens of stitches.
Eventually, a young man ran up and grabbed the dogs, taking them off Snow, who was quickly put in Smith's car.
After the attack, Garcia said she was frustrated at not having more help during the mauling.
"People were just passing us by, and people were standing behind their cars, and I was just looking at them, yelling, 'Help me, please help me,' " Garcia said. "And they would say, 'I called 911.' But nobody would come."
The boy's mother said he should make a full recovery.
The Rottweillers involved in the attack are currently on a medical quarantine. Officials at the Noth County Humane Society are monitoring the dogs for any sign of rabies. After 10 days, the dogs will be euthanized.
While at the shelter the 2-year-old dogs -- named Starsky and Hutch -- barked at a photographer taking their picture. It was, indeed, intimidating. According to the shelter, the dog's owner said the dogs had been vaccinated but not licensed. They have not been neutered, which can contribute to a dog's aggression.
Humane Society officials said the dog's owner was extremely sorry and signed the dogs over to the shelter. He said a family member apparently left a gate open, which is how the dogs got out.
Copyright NCTimes / NBC San Diego
First Published: Nov 5, 2009 10:23 AM PST
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