Neighbors Outraged After Third Dog Attacked By Pit Bull

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Denise McCay was walking her little dachshund Sutton Friday afternoon in a West End Canonsburg neighborhood when all of a sudden a huge pit bull ran towards her dog.

The pit bull picked the small animal up in his mouth, viciously attacking.

"I really thought he was gonna die and I screamed and finally that man come down and it must have been his owner and he just looked at me," McCay said. "He's never once tried to contact me to see if I'm OK or if my dog's OK."

Watch Ralph Iannotti's report:

The dogs reported owner Sean Kinevy of Hutchinson Avenue had already been warned about his animal after the pit bull attacked two other animals before.

Jim Sulkowski is the owner of the second dog the animal attacked six months ago. His greyhound Gracie was missing for 13 days before she was found near death just like Sutton.

"I think it's outrageous," Sulkowski said. "We're shocked and outraged like everyone else in the neighborhood is and it should have never happened again, that seems so irresponsible."

McCay went on to say, "That dog needs to be gone. It's still up there. If that dog is so capable of getting out he could get out at any time."

Neighbors fear a child could be the next victim and Monday night at the Canonsburg Council meeting they fought to make sure no one else has to suffer.

Police Chief R.T. Bell said at the meeting that police can't just go in and confiscate the pit bull, procedures have to be followed.

Bell said a stat dog officer from Allegheny County is now investigating the attacks, because the local dog officer lives in the same neighborhood where the attacks took place.

The owner of the pit bull was not at the meeting.

In response to the tragic dog accidents that have been occurring in Canonsburg, KDKA Radio host Mike Pintek spoke with the President and Founder of Hello Bully, Daisy Balawejder.

Hello Bully is a Pittsburgh-based non-profit dedicated to "rehoming, rehabilitating and repairing the reputation of the American Pit Bull Terrier."

"Pennsylvania has great dog laws. We have really good laws about responsible ownership and maintaining control of your dog," Balawajder said. "We also have laws to protect people once a dog has shown himself to be a danger."

Balawejder puts the blame on the way a dog is raised and not the breed of dog. She adds that many times the media only focuses on the pit bull attacks rather than when other dogs attack. The two discuss the fact that maybe other dogs do attack, but they're not as aggressive as a pit bull.

"Something wasn't done right in this situation, the second incident could have been prevented," Balawejder said. "That family and the owner and the community should be protected from a dangerous dog like that."

Listen to the interview here:

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