Unlicensed pit bull attacks woman in Stamford

Loren Morrissey’s leg after the pit bull attack. Loren Morrissey’s leg after the pit bull attack. Photo: Contributed / Photo: Contributed / Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Unlicensed pit bull attacks woman in Stamford 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD — Loren Morrissey often leaves her West Broad Street office in the middle of the day to walk the residential neighborhoods around Stamford Hospital.

Morrissey was on Hinckley Avenue last week when she says a brown pit bull terrier who was loose in the yard of a multifamily home charged at her and sunk its teeth into her leg, leaving several deep gash marks.

A more serious attack was prevented after Morrissey, 58, was able to momentarily scare off the dog by waving her arms and mimicking a growl. It was enough time for her to run across the street.

“My father told me if you’re ever attacked by an animal, you make yourself bigger than the animal,” said Morrissey, who runs a life insurance company and lives in Bull’s Head. “Show your teeth and flap your arms. I did that and it backed off for a second.”

An already bad situation was made worse when Morrissey and animal control officers learned 7-year-old Roxy lacked a dog license and up-to-date vaccinations, including rabies.

In Stamford and many places around the state, most dogs are not licensed as required under Connecticut law, a practice advocates say helps shelters reunite lost pets with their owners and requires them to have current rabies vaccinations. It costs only $8 a year for a dog that’s spayed or neutered.

Only about 2,800 of Stamford’s estimated 18,000 canines are licensed — less than 16 percent.

It becomes an issue when a dog who isn’t licensed attacks a person or another dog.

Since Roxy wasn’t recently vaccinated for rabies, Morrissey was urged to get vaccinated, a series of four shots she said would have cost $7,000. She declined the vaccine, afraid of side effects that include developing autoimmune diseases, but received a tetanus shot.

Roxy is being kept under 14-day quarantine at the Stamford Animal Control Center. Afterward, she will likely be put down at the owner’s request, Animal Control Officer Tilford Cobb said.

“She’s a really tough dog,” said Cobb, who described her as a smaller pit bull mix. Females of the breed can be as small as 30 pounds. Cobb said she was used to guard items in a garage.

When Cobb arrived at the home last Wednesday, Roxy also tried to attack him.

“Anyone could have been bitten by this dog,” he said.

The owner, Luz Angel, 61, was issued infractions for failure to vaccinate and license and allowing the dog to roam, and was fined $303.

A man who answered the door of the Hinckley Avenue home on Monday said the family declined to comment.

If Angel wants to keep Roxy, she’ll be bound by a restraining order that requires the dog to always be leashed or in an enclosure outside the house, and be muzzled in public, Cobb said.

This isn’t the only recent attack involving unlicensed dogs. On the same day, a 7-year-old pit bull killed a 10-year-old chihuahua on Fairfield Avenue, Cobb said. The owner was also issued tickets and fined.

Animal control officers will soon be going door-to-door to check for dog licenses, and owners without them will be fined. With proof of vaccination, owners can get a license at the town clerk’s office.

Morrissey said her bite was partly the result of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. The owners told her the dog was usually tied in the garage, but had gotten loose.

“I’m glad it was me and not a child,” Morrissey said. “I don’t think I’ll be walking down that street again.”

eskalka@stamfordadvocate.com