'When you need a gun, you need a gun'

Originally ran here in David Register-News as:
Bluford man attacked by pit bulls: 'When you need a gun, you need a gun'

Jan 26 2001 12:00AM  By Mary Kaye Davis Register-News

BLUFORD - "I was covered from head to toe in blood. It was a pretty close call," said Earl King, who, along with his dog, were attacked by two pit bulls this week.

King, who is a building inspector in this Jefferson County village, said he was filling out a building permit Tuesday afternoon at his home when he heard dogs fighting outside. He looked out and his beagle was being attacked by two pit bulls, he said. While King searched for his pistol, the two men visiting King managed to kick the dogs away from the beagle and brought the dog back to safety.

However, King's troubles weren't over. His dog tried to escape to safety to the back of the yard, and the pit bulls returned to attack the dog again. King again tried to get a pistol which he kept in a locked box, but couldn't quickly locate the key ring, and he returned to the yard to find the pit bulls were again attacking his dog.

"They had the beagle down again and were (gnawing) its head and throat and chewing its arms. They were trying to kill my dog," King said.

Two female neighbors heard the commotion and came running, and one swung a large branch at the dog, and the dogs ran away. But in the midst of trying to get the beagle away from the pit bulls, King was bitten in the arm several times. "

It was a pretty close call," King said. "If it wasn't for those two women, I don't know what could have happened. I think they could have killed us. We were both covered in blood."

King called the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department and the Jefferson County animal warden, who found the pit bulls at the owner's home, half a block away. The dogs were taken to Jefferson County Animal Shelter, where they were put in isolation. They are being checked for rabies, said Ruth Hughes, shelter supervisor.

The incident report being compiled by the sheriff's office was incomplete by the newspaper's deadline this morning. King's arm bites were not serious, but his beagle is still recovering.

"The wounds were so deep the vet didn't want to put stitches in. The wounds were very close to the heart," King said. "He'll be OK, but he's stiff and sore right now."

King said the attacks offers two lessons. He said not only should people keep potentially dangerous dogs leashed or contained, but his gun would have come in handy. "That should say something to all those people who don't believe people should have guns," King said. "When you need a gun, you need a gun."