A man was attacked Friday morning by two pit bulls in Wylie, according to a press release from the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said deputies were dispatched at 11:40 a.m. on March 17 when a caller complained that two pit bulls were trying to get into a neighbor’s fenced-off yard to attack his cows.
The deputies arrived at 3300 Whiteley Road and discovered an unnamed 48-year-old man had been injured by the two pit bulls.
The man was transported by ambulance to a local hospital and had to undergo surgery, according to police. The extent of his injuries is not known.
The pit bulls were taken and impounded by Dallas County Animal Control and Dallas County sheriff’s deputies. The police notified the owner of the animals.
The Dallas Express reached out to the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office for comment about the incident and to learn whether or not the animals are likely to be put down but did not hear back by the time of publication.
In February, The Dallas Express covered a mauling in Arlington by a pit bull which resulted in a man needing 79 stitches. Arlington Animal Services told The Dallas Express at the time that the dogs, which belonged to the man’s neighbor, were taken and held for observation — possibly for rabies — in order to determine whether they were a threat to the community.
The owner in that case was later charged with a third-degree felony, attack by dog resulting in serious bodily injury, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. It is unclear what will happen to the dogs, who also bit another man in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Dallas has seen 304 bites by contained animals and 216 by loose animals in January 2023, a spokesperson for Dallas Animal Services wrote in an email to The Dallas Express. By comparison, January 2022 saw 328 bites by contained animals and 230 by loose animals.
The ASPCA’s position on pit bulls is that, while they may be more likely to fight other dogs due to breeding, “it doesn’t mean that they can’t be around other dogs or that they’re unpredictably aggressive.”
“These dogs have long been popular family pets, noted for their gentleness, affection and loyalty,” the ASPCA statement reads. “And even those pit bulls bred to fight other animals were not prone to aggressiveness toward people. Dogs used for fighting needed to be routinely handled by people; therefore aggression toward people was not tolerated. Any dog that behaved aggressively toward a person was culled, or killed, to avoid passing on such an undesirable trait.”
