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'Wanted' Posters Go Up After Pit Bull Owner Flees Horse Attack

Community Keeps Hope
Auburn, CA - Nearly two months after a pit bull attacked a horse (with a 70-year old rider atop) then fled the scene, the community has not lost hope. Reward posters are going up on walls in pet stores and veterinarian offices from Reno to Stockton in a regional drive to collar the man and dog involved in the attack.

On April 3, Odette Parker was riding her horse Dancing Dandi in the Auburn State Recreation area when an unleashed pit bull attacked her horse. The attack sent Odette to the ground and her horse trying to fling the pit bull from its nose. Dancing Dandi managed to toss the dog into the trees. Then both animals flew into a dead run. The horse was later found 3 miles out.

Meanwhile, the pit bull owner got into his car and took off.

The new posters are a grassroots effort meant to augment efforts by law enforcement to find the dog owner who fled after the attack. Posters started going up locally a week ago, showing artist renderings of the man, the dog involved in the attack and two other dogs that were with the man but didn’t take part in the attack.

1,000 posters were printed locally and are now spreading into the equestrian and pet-owner community throughout the region. A similar attack by a pit bull in the North Fork of the American River in Applegate two weeks later has helped galvanize the equestrian community. Posters are now plastered from Sacramento to Foresthill to Modesto to Reno.

Margot Farrelly, a local pet groomer, is convinced the pit bull owner will be found. She said, "People are incensed that he would stand by and watch his dog attack a horse, have the rider thrown off, and never have a thought to pull the dog off and help the lady." Authorities have tried to find the man since the attack. But the investigation had reached a dead end.

Now it's up to the community, and it sounds like they're fired up.

Parker said that it’s been frustrating to think that the dog is still at large. She recently took Dancing Dandi out last week for his first trail ride since the attack. "He was very wary," the Lincoln equestrian said. "Whenever he sees dogs, he looks at them askance." Parker said that she’s seen the posters all over the place and hopes they’ll do some good.

Related articles:
04/11/08: Pit Bull Attacks Horse in Classic Bull Baiting Form
05/19/08: Dine-n-Dash in Austin: Pit Bull Owner Flees After Attack

See all: Horse Attacks by Pit Bulls

Labels: Horse Attack