Coastal Voices Guest Editorial: Beware of pit bull at beach

It was a foggy but warm, beautiful morning. Perfect for agate hunting and strolling along to the pounding of the surf before true winter sets in. We left our truck and walked through the dunes to the beach with our 10-month-old spayed female heeler/

Lab mix on her 6-foot leash.

Suddenly from 20 yards or so away a pit bull charged us, flew onto our pup’s back, rolling her leash out of my grasp and viciously bit on her throat and pinned her, then kept biting until he was on top with her snout flat into the sand and her yelping piteously. I was screaming “No no no no” and my husband (who was recovering from a bad fall) was trying to ward off the fearless brute with his walking stick (no reaction from the monster) and screaming for the owners.

The fact was the pit bull was in full attack mode and humans yelling meant nothing to him. With no provocation, he’d thrown us into shock and terror so fast we were just blindsided! We went into shock just like being in a car wreck!

The daughter kneeled by me in the sand where I was hugging my howling, whining pup and I screamed at her about a “public beach”and “irresponsibility.” I sat up and petted my terrified dog and she said “Oh your dog is OK. Ours will be punished by being put in the truck the rest of the day" and she left too. All I wanted was their dog killed, or to scream stupid things, so I didn’t say anything more.

Long story short: It all happened so fast and we were both in so much shock we didn’t get their names or numbers. Our dog had disgusting frothy slobber on her and we just wanted to wash her in the ocean and get her happy again. It was only later when she was responding normally, washed, and wagging her tail again that I finally inspected her for wounds.

Dogs always do dominance fights and we just didn’t “get it” that pit bulls are so different. Our dog had three serious puncture wounds and we had to drive three hours all the way to the only open vet hospital in Medford. Our first bill was $511.50. Our pup has a drain tube in her neck and is on pain and antibiotic pills for a week.

We were so exhausted from the horrid stress that we had to sleep half the next day too! My great horror is not just our dog’s painful injury or the vet bill (with more to come), it’s that those two women don’t know the damage that so-called pet caused! They didn’t know their dog had caused puncture wounds when they left us. Now he’s tasted the blood of his own near-kill.

What if he liked it? Will his next victim be a child? I will bet he’ll do it again. Be prepared. I’m 55 and my husband is 62 with a lifetime owning dogs and neither of us had ever seen anything like this. We are both getting pepper spray to carry on our belts for the rest of our lives!

We felt totally helpless, but the dog might live in your area! I had to warn you.

Rhonda Gheen lives in O’Brien, Ore.