TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa woman is hoping the owner of a dog that mauled her own dog will come forward and take responsibility for the attack.
Michelle Williams says she was walking her 9 month old Rhodesian Ridgeback Kayto up S. Howard Avenue near Hyde Park on July 1st when a Rottweiler-like dog pounced, unprovoked. The dog was accompanied by a young woman with long blonde hair.
“I’m lucky Kayto survived, because I’ve heard of incidents where dogs die from this,” Williams said. “I was petrified.”
A maintenance guy working near BurgerFi on Howard jumped in and pulled the dog off Kayto. As Williams checked out the severity of Kayto’s wounds, his attacker and the owner took off.
“She made no attempt to stay and see how everything was,” she said.
Kayto suffered deep bite wounds and had a chunk taken out of his back. Williams says he’s become uncharacteristically skittish since the attack.
After taking Kayto to the emergency vet clinic, Williams called Hillsborough County Animal Services but an animal control officer told her there was little they could do without a name or address for the dog’s owner.
Williams resorted to posting on the Nextdoor app, hoping someone knows who the woman is.
“Had she just stayed after, or tried to get in touch with me, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” Williams said.
Williams’ main concern is whether the other dog is up to date on its vaccinations. She also wants the dog to be evaluated so that hopefully this never happens again.
“Who’s to say that couldn’t have been a child?” she asked. “That could have happened to a child.”
Williams is working with nearby businesses to get surveillance video in hopes of identifying the dog’s owner.
Anyone with information should contact Hillsborough County Animal Services at (813) 744-5660 or by clicking here.
