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DENVER -- An Arvada man who was viciously attacked by a pit pull while delivering a supply of wood to the Home Depot on West Crestline Avenue in Denver, says he wants the dog’s owner to step forward and accept responsibility.
Eric Mercer pulled up behind the store just before 10:30 Friday morning and got out of his truck.
He said he was waiting for a crew to help unload, when the chocolate-colored pit bull, which had been running loose and dragging its leash in a grassy area adjacent to the store, came bolting toward him.
“He lunged at me,” Mercer said. “It was a midsize dog, but brute, like a dog on steroids.”
The dog clamped down on his left hand and wouldn’t let go.
It tore a gash on Mercer’s palm.
The victim said the pit bull lunged at him three more times and he kept trying to push it away.
That’s when the dog turned its attention to a couple of Home Depot employees, who ended up jumping onto a platform.
“All I heard from the owner was ‘no, no, no.’ And that was it,” Mercer said.
Owner Flees
The victim told Denver7 that employees took him into the receiving area, so he could use the first aid kit.
While he was trying to stop the bleeding, he asked them to get the dog owner’s name, but was told she and her dogs were already gone.
He said a witness told him the woman had fled to a nearby apartment complex.
Mercer described her as a white Hispanic woman, about 5-foot-4, with long brown hair.
She apparently had two dogs, the pit bull and a wiener dog.
Eleven Stitches
The victim said he was transported to a hospital and received 11 stitches.
“Three under the skin,” he said, “and then eight above the skin.”
He said his doctor prescribed an antibiotic to prevent an infection.
Not wanting to incur more expenses, or a series of painful shots, Mercer said he wants authorities to find the dog, so it can be tested for rabies.
“I’m a chicken,” he said, “I don’t like shots.”
Concern about Future Attacks
Mercer said he worries that the dog will attack again and that the outcome could be different.
“I’m a grown man,” he said. “Look what it did to me. What if it was a child? I have a daughter who is 9-years-old. If this dog would have gotten a hold of her, it could have killed her.”
Frustration
Mercer said he was frustrated to learn that Animal Control did not respond to the scene Friday.
He said he called police and they took a report and apparently called Animal Control, but the call was canceled after he was taken to the hospital.
He said he spent a good portion of the day Saturday trying to find out the status of the investigation.
He said when an officer in District 4 told him he needed to contact Animal Control, he replied, “How about I go down there and try to find the lady myself.”
He said the response was, “Go ahead.”
Seeking Accountability
Mercer said he contacted the Animal Control officer, and was told that she would go to the apartment complex and visit with management, and would then try to find the dog owner.
“I just want the owner of the dog to come forward and say, ‘I’m sorry and we will take care of what needs to be taken care of,’” he said.