Harris County dog attack: 3 adults, including deputy hospitalized in attack
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Three people, including a Harris County Sheriff's deputy, were hospitalized after a dog attack in west Harris County, authorities say.
It happened shortly before 8:30 a.m. on the 3500 block of Doherty Place near North Fry Road in Katy.
Vielka Wong says she had just dropped her daughter off at school Wednesday morning when she and her parents found what appeared to be two stray pit bulls in their garage. Vielka says the family immediately tried to help the dogs get shelter from the rain.
"My stepdad always had pit bulls, so he loved pit bulls. We have a dog too. My stepdad wanted to move the cars and get them out so we could leave the dogs in the garage so they wouldn’t get wet," Wong said.
As Wong was getting the dog's food and water, she said she heard her stepdad, 83-year-old Dennis McKee, scream for his life.
Sergio Torres, who lives across the street from McKee, watched the violent attack unfold on his surveillance camera.
"The dogs looked friendly. They were wagging their tails and jumping on the neighbor when he was petting them. I don’t know what happened, but it quickly did a 180 and they started attacking him. He was petting the dogs and then it quickly turned on him, pulled him to the ground, and were tugging on him," Torres said.
The video shows the dogs began violently attacking McKee’s arms, legs, and face.
A 43-year-old man driving by the area apparently heard the screams and stopped to help.
Wong is seen on surveillance hitting the dogs with an umbrella and the dogs eventually release McKee.
Seconds later, the dogs are seen turning to attack the male bystander instead. The man then jumps on top of a car parked on the street for safety.
A Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy eventually intervened and shot and killed the dogs.
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"Our deputy is in good condition. Sounds like our deputies did a good job in acting swiftly and preventing the two victims from being completely mauled," Sheriff Gonzalez wrote on Twitter.
McKee and the 43-year-old were both taken to the hospital. The sheriff says the older man sustained the more serious injuries, and the other man was in fair condition.
The sheriff says the deputy was also taken to the hospital for a dog bite injury.
Investigators are now trying to determine if the dogs were strays or belonged to anyone. The victim's family says if the dogs have owners, they plan on pressing charges.