13-year-old boy, responding deputy attacked by dog in Spring

A walk to the school bus turned into a pretty scary ordeal for a 13-year-old boy after he was swarmed by a pack of dogs.  It happened in Spring where one of the dog's not only attacked the teen but also the responding deputy.

When the 13-year-old left for school this morning, he had no idea he would return home on crutches with seven stitches after being bitten by a dog. 

"I saw like three dogs and they were like fighting. Some of them saw me and they bit me," he says.

Residents say the dog and two others were terrorizing the neighborhood as kids headed to school, including Juan Montoya’s 12-year-old son.  "He came back and he said there were dogs loose outside and he was scared.  That’s when I came out,” explains Montoya.  Once outside, Montoya saw his 78-year-old neighbor on the ground.  David Brackman says he lost his balance and fell over the dogs as they huddled at his legs.

"Once I went down they sort of held their own ground, head down, they didn’t try to attack me or anything.  I was talking to them ‘easy boys I’m alright’.  I got back on my legs,” Brackman explains.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman says the three dogs, two pitbulls and a pit mix, escaped from a neighbor's backyard fence.  Precinct 4 Deputy T. Almeida arrived within minutes.

“One of the dogs began to attack the deputy and bite the deputy.  He began to discharge his weapon several times.  I believe he struck the dog once. The dog is still alive,” says Constable Herman.

The dog was taken, treated and quarantined by the Houston SPCA.  Almeida’s bites on his leg were bandaged at the scene.  Residents say they hope nothing like this will happen again.

"It’s pretty dangerous for the neighborhood,” adds Montoya.       

Residents in the Timberlane Sub-Division say the homeowner has lived there about a month and the dogs were brought in about two weeks ago.  One resident says their new neighbor told him he didn’t get along with his previous neighbors because the dogs were always getting loose.

The owner of the dogs wasn't home when the teen and the deputy were attacked but investigators say he will likely be charged with ‘Allowing Animals to Run Loose'.