Pit Bulls Allowed To Stay With Owner After Attacking Stockton Man
STOCKTON (CBS13) — A vicious pit bull attack is leaving one Stockton family on edge.
Steven Bishop was attacked by the dogs.
Two of the dogs involved are currently under quarantine. The third was shot and killed by a neighbor.
"It was very, very vicious," said Steven Bishop, who was attacked by the dogs.
Bishop says the attack was so brutally painful that he could hardly sit and talk about it without feeling pain.
"They mauled my arm really bad. It was just so intense," Bishop said.
The incident happened the day before Thanksgiving when he was viciously attacked by two of three loose pit bulls. He says the dogs got out of his neighbors' yard and ended up in his garage while he was working on a project.
"The first one came in and attacked me and I was able to fend him off before he did any damage," Bishop explained.
The other, he says, locked onto his arm. That's when he began screaming for help and his wife came to his rescue. Bishop says his wife hit one of the dogs so he could get away from it. Police say the other was shot by a neighbor.
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"It's traumatic when you have a vicious dog that's latched on your arm and trying to rip it off," Bishop said.
CBS13 has learned the owners will be able to keep their dogs. Joe Silva with the Stockton Police Department says because there weren't any prior documented attacks, the pets can stay with their owners but under strict guidelines. The pets must be registered with the city as dangerous dogs and signs will have to be posted at their home.
According to city code, if the dogs strike again, they could be put down if the attack is unprovoked. If the attack is provoked, the owner can keep the animals under the dangerous dog classification.
As for the owners, police say they aren't facing any criminal charges.
"It doesn't appear that there any type of criminal negligence," Silva said.
Police believe the dogs just simply got out of their yard.
Still, Bishop says it doesn't make what happened to him right and he wants dog owners to be held more accountable.
"I'm upset because it could have happened to a child. I think owners really have to pay attention to the security of their animals," he explained.
We spoke to neighbors who claim they have been attacked before by the dogs but the incidents were never reported to police or animal control. Police are trying to identify and talk to the neighbor that shot and killed one of the dogs to figure out exactly what happened.