"The black dog was going to come after me," the victim of a pit-bull attack said Wednesday. "And I stepped back, but then ..."
Escondido resident Tom Atkinson was jogging Tuesday morning in his quiet, gated neighborhood on Rock View Glen in the Emerald Heights development when the attack occurred. He said the two pit bulls threatened a neighbor's dog, then came after him, biting him on the arm, the hand and the thigh. He said that one dog attacked first, then the other joined in.
"I was still trying to avoid this dog with kicks and slaps, but this one I was punching as much as I could," Atkinson said. "Didn't do much good."
Escondido Animal Control said that one of the dogs may have bitten another victim in the same area.
It was reported this morning that an animal control officer responded and impounded one of the dogs, later releasing it back to its owner, who promised to keep it on a 10-day quarantine. However, during the afternoon, animal control said the dogs had both been euthanized with the owner's permission.
