New Leads Emerge in Pit Bull Attack
UPDATE 04/11/08: Nearly a week after a pit bull and his owner fled after attacking a horse, the investigation into finding both was bolstered by new information and a growing reward -- one report says $2,000 another $3,600. The rider has also provided a clearer description of the dog and the car the owner fled in.

Between the rider's better description and information received from the Placer County Animal Services Division about a possible person of interest, new life is being breathed into the case. For people with information on the dog or owner, the state Parks Department can be reached at (530) 885-4527. For people wishing to add to the reward, Echo Valley’s phone number is (530) 823-1482.

04/09/08: Reward Offered in Pit Bull Attack on Horse and Rider
An Auburn feed store put up reward money to help locate a pit bull and owner involved in a bloody attack on a horse. Echo Valley Ranch owner Greg Kimler said he was shocked when he learned of the unprovoked attack on a Lincoln rider’s horse last Thursday.

The pit bull owner fled in his SUV after the attack, which took place on an Auburn State Recreation Area trail. He and the dog are now being sought by the state Department of Parks and Recreation. Echo Valley of Auburn is offering $500 to the person whose information leads to the owner being held responsible for his actions.

Kimler said he was "disgusted with the owner not helping." All my customers are shocked, he said, because we all ride out there. Kimler, a Western States Trail Foundation board member, said some customers have already pledged additional reward funds and he expects the equestrian community to provide more backing.

04/05/08: Attack Pit Bull Still at Large
The pit bull and its owner are still AWOL. The man is described as in his mid-to-late 20s, balding, with a short fringe of black hair near the ears, stocky and about 5 feet 5 inches tall. He wore jeans and a white T-shirt. Anyone with information can contact the Auburn State Recreation Area: (530) 885-4527.

Parker said her horse, Dancing Dandi, had to go back to the veterinarian after swelling was noticed in a hind limb. The horse now has two legs wrapped, as well as stitches in its face for puncture wounds and additional wounds near its tail. Parker is still in shock andconfused by the pit bull owner's behavior during and after the attack. “I didn’t think he would take off,” She said.

04/04/08: Pit Bull Attacks 961 Pound Horse
Auburn, CA - Traffic was halted for a short time on Foresthill Road to protect a riderless horse that was galloping down the roadway to escape an attacking pit bull. The horse's rider, Odette Parker, had been on an Auburn State Recreation Trail about 4 miles east of Auburn.

Parker said the dog, followed by two other smaller dogs and a man who stayed silent during the attack, ran yelping at the horse as it approached in a run, circled it and then jumped onto the horse’s flank, biting into the tail area. (What Parker may not know is that she just described classic bull baiting form, which has been in the bulldog bloodline for 2,000 years.)

Parker’s horse -- a 916-pound Morgan-Arabian named Dancing Dandi -- kicked its attacker away. But as a baiting pit bull would, he stuck around and continued to look for an opening. Parker said the dog was, "feinting, he was definitely out for the kill, there was no question." She yelled and screamed at the dog to no avail.

Then the dog leapt at the horse's face and locked its jaws around its nose. Dancing Dandi lifted the dog up and flung it into a tree. Parker tumbled off the horse as they both lost balance. With the horse on the ground trying to regain his footing, the dog attacked a third time. Fortunately, Dancing Dandi lurched to his feet. He took off down the trail with the pit bull in pursuit.

Meanwhile, the owner of the dogs began loading the other canines into his car. Parker said the man refused to help as he silently drove away, even after she asked him for a ride to find the horse.

Classic pit bull owner behavior.

Parker later learns that Dancing Dandi took a loop around the trail and the dog chased it to Foresthill Road. The dog apparently gave up the chase after that and was subsequently picked up by its owner as he drove toward Auburn. The gelding was finally caught by James Anderson about 3 miles from where the attack started.

In the chaos, Parker and Debbie Torres, who was out on the trail with her, did not get the license plate of the dog owner. The vehicle was described as a small silver SUV. The man was in his mid-20s, balding, with a short fringe of black hair near the ears, stocky and about 5 feet 5. He wore a white T-shirt, jeans, and had a sweatshirt tied around his waist.

Parker wants the dog that attacked her horse to be euthanized. Her horse was treated at the Loomis Basin Equine Medical Center for a swollen knee, lacerations to the face and inner side of the nose, and puncture wounds on the underside of the tail and thigh. Veterinarian Dr. Olivia Inoue said she’d treated horses attacked by a mountain lion and a coyote but never a dog.

See all: Horse Attacks by Pit Bulls