Denver Man Searching For Pit Bull Owner, Dog After Attack
DENVER (CBS4)- One Denver dog owner is searching for a dog and its owner after he says his dog was attacked. The owner of the other dog offered to help but then took off.
Derek Cohen takes his dog, Wade, to the Railyard Dog Park every day. The proximity of that park to his apartment is why he chose to live there.
Cohen describes his 1-year-old Fox Red Labrador Retriever as being friendly and full of energy. He says Wade usually gets along with all the dogs at the park.
"He always thinks he's the smallest dog out there, even though he's 82 pounds of love," said Cohen, "He's always very friendly and always wants to play!"
Derek and Wade took their daily walk to the park Wednesday afternoon, but that day, their experience was different than others.
"I've seen a few animals get aggressive, but nothing like I witnessed Wednesday," said Cohen to CBS4's Tori Mason.
Cohen said a pit bull started to get rough with Wade while the dogs were playing.
"I talked to the owner to see if he was normally aggressive and he said he wasn't," explained Cohen.
He gave the dogs another chance to play. A decision he soon regretted.
"This dog comes and latches onto the back of Wade's neck! It has a firm grab on his neck for about a minute to a minute and a half," said Cohen.
The owners got the dogs separated, then Cohen says the pit bull attempted to come after Wade again. The other owners and their dogs nearby evacuated the park after Wade was bitten.
Wade suffered a puncture wound to his neck. After the incident, a veterinarian put the dog on antibiotics. Derek made sure to get the owner's contact information immediately after the incident.
"I gave him a text and he never responded, so I called him later that night. Never got any response. I'm pretty sure he gave me the wrong information. He just took off so quickly," said Cohen.
Under Denver's Ordinance Section 8-55, pit bull breeds are banned in the City and County of Denver.
"In this situation I don't like to blame the dog. Dogs are unpredictable," said Cohen.
Derek knows the stigma associated with pit bulls. He's disappointed its owner didn't help the situation.
"If the owner knows their dog can be aggressive, don't take him to a dog park," said Cohen.
Cohen brought his dog back to the park shortly after the incident so Wade wouldn't be too traumatized to visit later on. He hopes the owner of the pit bull will take responsibility, reach out to him and offer to pay the veterinarian bills.
According to the City of Denver, a pit bull must be relocated to a city that doesn't have a breed restriction ordinance.