Pit bull chews off owner's arm, hand Dog tears off owner's hands: Incident recalls '09 Stamford chimp attack

WILTON -- In a scene out of a horror movie, a pit bull -- apparently without provocation -- attacked its owner, tearing out one of her arms and ripping off her other hand.

The victim, Anne Murray, 56, was recovering at Norwalk Hospital, her son Matthew Murray said Tuesday.

"She's better -- she's awake now," he said. "I don't really know what happened. I just want to stay with her and get her to a full recovery."

The attack at the Murrays' 77 Range Road home happened about 11:30 a.m. Monday. Police Lt. Donald Wakeman said one passing motorist, and then another, stopped because the dog had wandered into the road.

"The first motorist found the dog to be somewhat aggressive, so she retreated to her car," Wakeman said. "And then one of the two motorists heard someone calling for help, so she called 911."

He said the dog in the street was the one that attacked Murray, who was found underneath a vehicle in her driveway, trying to fend off the animal, said Wakeman, the Wilton Police Department spokesman.

The first arriving officer, Capt. John Lynch, determined that the dog was an immediate threat to the victim and others nearby, so he shot and killed the dog, Wakeman said. The pit bull's remains will be tested for rabies at a state laboratory, officials said.

In additional to the loss of a limb and another hand, Murray had bite wounds all over her body, Wakeman said. She was brought by ambulance to Norwalk Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

The house at 77 Range Road in Wilton, Conn., on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, where a pit bull attacked his owner, Anne Murray, 65, on Monday. The house at 77 Range Road in Wilton, Conn., on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, where a pit bull attacked his owner, Anne Murray, 65, on Monday. Photo: Lindsay Perry Photo: Lindsay Perry Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close Pit bull chews off owner's arm, hand 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

"She lost all of her left arm and a portion of her right arm," he said.

Monday's mauling recalls the 2009 chimpanzee attack on Charla Nash, of Stamford. In that incident she was blinded and horribly mutilated; she later received a face transplant.

But the big difference between that case and Monday's dog attack is that chimpanzees, cute as they may be when they're infants, grow up to be wild animals -- muscular, temperamental and unpredictable ones at that.

Dogs, conversely, have been domesticated for tens of thousands of years, making Monday's attack all the more terrifying.

Still, pit bulls, although they have legions of admirers, have killed and maimed countless times before. The most recent pit bull death occurred last week in Kernersville, N.C., when 25-year-old Katherine Atkins was set upon by her two dogs while she was attempting to feed them. She had owned the dogs since they were puppies, Kernersville police said.

And last month, 5-year-old Jason Ryan, of Baker City, Ore., was set upon by a neighbor's pit bull. He died in the ambulance. In September, two toddlers were mauled to death by pit bulls, one in Colton, Calif., the other in Gilbert, Ariz.

No one was home at Murray's house on Tuesday, but the front yard bore the remains of what must have been a chaotic and gruesome scene.

The driveway was littered with some of the contents of the ambulance that arrived to take Murray to the hospital, including a pillow, a blanket, a blue latex glove, a blister-pack of bandages and an orange biohazard bag.

Also in the driveway was the pit bull's black nylon collar, with tags bearing his name: "Tux" -- for Tuxedo -- a name that was confirmed by police who said the animal was a 2-year-old male.

Range Road is in a neighborhood of tidy suburban homes, but the red house at number 77 has fallen on hard times. The garage door is mostly missing; a picket fence covers the opening. The electricity meter has a shut-off tag affixed to it.

On the front stoop is a large plastic tub, partially filled with water, into which a winter coat was draped. The front yard is covered in brambles and the mailbox hadn't been emptied in days.

Neighbors said they had never met Anne Murray and that the family kept to themselves. Police said she lives with her twin 26-year-old sons.

"Technically, the dog belonged to one of the sons," Wakeman said. "The sons weren't home all the time, so she took care of the dog when they weren't there. Why the dog turned on her, we don't know."

As was the case in the North Carolina tragedy, Tuxedo was part of the family since puppyhood, police said.

Wakeman said the investigation is continuing.

"At this point, we don't know whether criminal charges will be filed," he said.

jburgeson@ctpost.com; 203-330-6403; http://twitter.com/johnburgeson