Dog breaches screen to attack family pet

‘I think she would have ate her,’ stunned owner says

By LILA FUJIMOTO, Staff Writer
WAILUKU — John Kyle was watching television in his living room Sunday morning when two dogs tore through a screen door and into the Wailuku home, with one dog attacking the family’s small house dog.

“I saw a shadow, and they were already through the screen,” Kyle said. “One dog turned around and was gone.

“When the other dog grabbed her, blood just went everywhere. She was just getting jerked back and forth in the air.”

Bunny, the family’s 7-pound longhaired miniature dachshund, was left bleeding from bites to her neck, while Kyle was bitten on his left forearm as he wrestled the 70-pound pit bull intruder onto the living room floor.

Kyle was lying on the female pit bull to hold her down when his mother, Carol Balcom, responding to the commotion ran into the living room.

“I still am stunned,” she said Monday afternoon. “I’m glad I didn’t see it.”

Kyle said the family is facing up to $1,500 in medical bills for Bunny. With a brace around her neck, a bandaged left leg and intravenous and catheter tubes, Bunny remained at the Central Maui Animal Clinic in Kahului on Monday.

The dog that attacked her was being held at the Maui Humane Society, which hadn’t located its owner.

The dog was described as an intact female pit bull or pit bull mix, blue with a white chest and cut ears. The animal had a collar but no tag and appeared to have had puppies recently.

“It points out the need to spay or neuter pets,” said Jocelyn Bouchard, executive director of the Maui Humane Society. “Especially if it’s done early, we see less aggressive tendencies.”

She said the swiftness of the attack was unusual, noting reports by the victims indicated it wasn’t preceded by barking or other interaction between the two dogs.

The miniature dachshund had been spayed, with Balcom adopting the 7-year-old dog from the Maui Humane Society a few months ago.

Kyle estimated the attack occurred between 11 and 11:30 a.m. Sunday while he had the sliding-glass door open but screen door shut to let in the breeze as he watched a basketball game on television at the house on Pio Drive in Wailuku. The 35-year-old construction worker said he was sitting on the couch while Bunny was lying on the floor in the living room. A roast was cooking when the two intruder dogs ran through the backyard and through the screen door into the house, Kyle said.

He described the dog that turned and ran out of the house as an adult white-and-gray chow-Laborador mix weighing 40 to 45 pounds.

Once he saw the other dog had Bunny in its mouth, Kyle said he tried to pry open the larger dog’s mouth before punching the dog to get her to release Bunny.

“I think she would have ate her,” Kyle said. “I’ve never had a dog with such strength. It was a very aggressive dog.”

After the pit bull let go, Kyle held the large dog by its collar and managed to drag her into an outside shed.

He estimated the attack lasted about 30 seconds.

While police and animal control officers responded to the home, Kyle was driving Bunny to the clinic.

“She was dying in my arms,” he said. “I don’t understand why that dog was running around.

“What if it had been a baby or a little kid? I didn’t want that to happen to someone else.”

Kyle said he hadn’t seen the pit bull or other dog before.

Bouchard said animal control officers checked the neighborhood but didn’t find anyone who recognized the pit bull.

“We’re hoping we’ll have an owner come forward,” she said.

“The dog we have is very sweet with people, which is quite often the case” with pit bulls, Bouchard said.

“They’re actually very good with people but not always so good with dogs,” she said. “The bites that the owner received were clearly from breaking up the fight.”

Anyone who wants to claim the dog or who has information on the animal can call the Maui Humane Society at 877-3680, ext. 29.

• Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.