A man lost part of a finger while trying to stop a pit bull from attacking his dog in New London Tuesday morning, police said, and the pit bull died from injuries sustained in the fight with the other dog.
Police officers and firefighters responded to the area of Cape Ann Court and Ashcraft Road at 7:24 a.m. after a 911 call came in reporting that two dogs were attacking a person.
Twenty-one year old Marquis Boney said he has walked his dog Goji, an almost 1-year-old mastiff, past the pit bull before and never had a problem. He passed Tuesday morning with Goji on a leash.
“My dog gave him a look and he gave him a look and I think that just set it off and that dog jumped over the fence,” Boney said.
According to Boney, he was trying to break up the fighting when part of his finger was bitten off by the pit bull.
“I grabbed his hand and I told him to hold the towel on it to stop the bleeding. Put pressure,” said neighbor Emily Pratts, who ran to help. “And he’s just like, ‘My dog, my dog!’”
Pratts said other neighbors were outside, including the owners of the pit bull. Someone called 911, another ran to get Boney’s mom.
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When officers arrived, they attempted to use a “bite sleeve” but then fired a Taser at Goji when the dogs didn’t separate. Goji ran off. The pit bull, Menace, succumbed to his injuries.
“He’s like my son. Without him, it’s like… it’s like breathing without air,” Boney said about the fact Goji is still missing.
Sara Alexander, the owner of Menace, said when she ran outside she was shocked to see that her dog apparently jumped the fence. She said he loved people and had been outside around Goji.
“We loved him and he loved us. We had high schoolers who would cut through our yard all the time just so they could see Menace,” Alexander said.
Her heart goes out to Boney’s family.
“There really are no winners here. We’re all victims now,” Alexander said.
Boney said Goji is a service animal who helps with his post-traumatic stress disorder after a battle with bone cancer as a child caused his right leg to be amputated above the knee.
“He helps relax me when I feel enormous amounts of stress,” Boney said.
Which is one reason he said it’s critical to get his dog back.
“I know this sounds crazy but I will do whatever it takes – I would lose a whole hand for this dog,” Boney said. “That’s how much I love him.”
Police and animal control are looking for the mastiff and they are asking anyone with information about the attack to call New London Police at 860-447-5269, extension 0 or text NLPDTips and the information to Tip411.
