Pit bull attack in Huntington Beach leaves neighbors asking for owner accountability

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Huntington Beach neighborhood is on edge after a pit bull attacked a woman and her dog, leaving the dog with severe injuries.

Lyling Irwin, the owner of the dog that was attacked, said it happened last Wednesday.

"I haven't slept in like three days because I can't get the image of my dog getting mauled by this pit bull," Irwin said.

The pair was out for their afternoon walk when they turned a corner to find a pit bull in front of them, off of its leash.

"It was about one second until the pit bull launched and attacked us. It knocked me to the ground," Irwin said.

Her glasses were on the ground, phone was shattered and her dog, Betty, was crying for help. Irwin said she managed to pry the pit bull off, but not before her Spaniel mix would suffer a severe abdomen puncture wound, that would require seven hours of surgery.

Betty was left in pain, anxious and unable to walk several days or eat on her own.

"Unfortunately, this dog is known in the neighborhood to be menace. There's been multiple of my neighbors reporting that they don't feel safe turning the corner, walking around because there's been a lot of signs of aggression," Irwin said.

After taking this to OC Animal Care, Irwin was told she was the first to file a report against the animal.

In an email, the agency told Eyewitness News the several reports against the pit bull were under investigation.

Huntington Beach Police also took a report, but an HBPD spokesperson said if there was no current threat to public safety, the investigation was in the hands of Animal Care.

The vet costs Irwin incurred totaled to about $3,000. She said she just wants to enjoy her neighborhood in peace.

"I'm just hoping for her to have a speedy recovery and not have too many long-lasting effects of this injury and I just want to be able to walk my dog in my neighborhood now and sleep at night," Irwin said. "There needs to be some owner and parent responsibility."

Irwin said the person who took the pit bull after the attack said the owner was out of town at the time and that person hadn't reached out to her.

Eyewitness News tried to contact the owner, but did not hear back as of Wednesday evening.

Irwin said she was considering taking legal action.