Gun saves man from dogs

http://www.denverpost.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,36%7E53%7E1801411,00.html

Pit bulls kill woman, injure 2 men in Elbert
Roaming dogs slain; rabies tests planned
By George Merritt and Jim Kirksey
Denver Post Staff Writers

Monday, December 01, 2003 -

ELBERT COUNTY - A pack of roaming pit bulls neighbors say have been
aggressive in the past mauled a woman to death Sunday morning and
injured two men, the Elbert County Sheriff's Office said.

Jennifer Brooke, 40, died Sunday after being airlifted to Swedish
Medical Center.

Brooke left her home about 7 a.m. to take care of her horses in a barn
near her home in a rural community east of Parker.

About 10 a.m., her friend Bjorn Osmunsen, 24, became concerned that
she hadn't returned from doing her chores.

Around the same time, Osmunsen and another person were chased inside
by three dogs. They noticed blood on the dogs' fur, Rattlesnake Fire
District chief Dale Goetz said.

Osmunsen called 911 and reported Brooke missing, then went to look for
her.

When he arrived at the barn, he was mauled by the dogs, as well,
sheriff's officials said. He was later treated and released from
Swedish.

A little before 11 a.m., Lynn Baker stepped out of his house about 500
yards away. The three dogs attacked him, gnashing his arms.

"It was awful," Baker said. "It was terrible."

Baker had walked to his pickup and was about to head for the store
when he heard growling and suddenly saw the dogs snapping at him.

"The next thing I know, I'm being attacked by three pit bulls," he
said. "One was leaping for my throat as one was dragging me down by my
hand."

With the dogs hanging onto him, he tried to make it to the bed of his
truck.

"I did make it to the back of the truck, or I wouldn't be here now,"
Baker said. "I kicked the big pit bull and yanked my hand down. It was
scary. I thought I was dying."

The dogs attempted to jump in the bed of the truck and nearly made it
when Baker started yelling, screaming so loudly that neighbors a
quarter-mile away heard the shouts. He hollered for his mother to call
911 and for his 16-year-old son, Cody, to grab a gun.

Cody shot at the dogs with a 12-gauge shotgun, blinding one, knocking
one down and disorienting the third.

The distraction was enough for Baker to jump down, grab his truck keys
from the driveway and climb into the cab of the pickup. He drove it
close enough to the house to scurry inside, he said.

"I told my son, 'It's my turn.' So, I grabbed the gun," Baker said.

Baker said he shot the largest pit bull twice with birdshot.

"I needed something bigger," he said. "When I shot him the first time
he just come a running toward me, so I shot him again."

Baker then ran back inside the house, and the pit bull waited on the
front porch.

"It's unreal," he said. "It's like those dogs have no soul. ... They
were just looking for people."

All of the dogs were eventually killed by Elbert County sheriff's
deputies, he said.

Baker was taken to Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, where he was
treated and released.

Dawn Woods said she could hear the shouting and gunfire from her
house. She said the dogs had caused problems in the neighborhood
before.

"They got out and attacked a jogger," she said.

"Another time, the dogs chased a woman into her home and persistently
clawed the glass at her deck door until officers arrived," Woods said.

"You just don't expect things like that to happen out here," said Teri
Koren, who lives in the area. "People let dogs run wild out here. "

There is a $50 fine for pet owners who let their dogs roam, Elbert
County Sheriff Bill Frangis said.

Goetz, who responded to the call, described Sunday's attack as
"gruesome" and said eight men have received counseling over the
incident.

"I've been doing this 37 years," Goetz said. "I've never had anything
like that."

Firefighters hosed Baker's home and blood-stained pickup Sunday night,
fearing the pit bulls may have had rabies. The dogs' bodies will be
examined to determine whether they had the disease.

Frangis said it was undecided whether charges would be filed against
the dog owners.

Underwood did not release the name of the dogs' owner, but neighbors
said the dogs come from a fenced yard in the 42000 block of Ricki
Drive, less than a mile from Brooke's barn. There are other dogs on
the property, Woods said.

A large sign on the gate warns "Beware of Dogs."

"They came to the wrong house when they came up here," Baker said.

Baker grieved for Brooke on Sunday night, calling her a friend.

The barn where she was mauled is about 500 yards from his home, and
they often helped each other with their horses.

"I'm going to be fine compared to what my poor neighbor went through,"
Baker said. "Compared to what I went through, what she went through
must have been horrible."

-- 
"I can only hope that your mother, wife and children get gunned down
and die slowly when they are walking the streets quietly minding 
their own business." - gun control supporter Jon Bellamy, in an 
email to the founder of the pro-gun website KeepAndBearArms.com
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/Item.asp?ID=3627