HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Residents in a Hollywood neighborhood are on edge after two pit bulls running loose attacked a small dog Sunday. The residents say the dogs often roam the neighborhood off leash. One neighbor said she feels like she is living in a prison.
A surveillance video shows how the attack unfolded Sunday afternoon at North 11th Court and Grant Street.
Mark Modzelewski said his teenage son was walking the family's dog, Cutie, when the pit bulls ran toward them. The boy tried to pick Cutie up to protect her, but the large dogs kept lunging for her.
Eventually, a City Furniture truck passed by and the workers inside pulled Cutie into the cab to safety.
"I just heard frantic screaming and at that point, we ran out to the front to see what's going on," a neighbor who witnessed the attack told Local 10 News.
Cutie is expected to recover, but the attack has shaken the family.
"She was bitten around her eyes and chin and then her feet," Modzelewski said.
Several residents said they have had issues with the dogs and their owner before. They said the dogs often roam the neighborhood and chase people.
"It's become kind of a prison right now with him on the end of the block," Sandy Osterman said.
The dog's owner, Gary Biernacki, said he had no issues with his neighbors and the dogs are rarely off leash.
"I wouldn't say mauled," Biernacki said when asked about the attack. "You ever hear a dog fight?"
The Hollywood Police Department and Broward County Animal Care are investigating the incident.