“It seems to me that somebody had been feeding them gunpowder or something,” neighbor Elmer Levigne said. “I ain’t never seen dogs this vicious.” The retired deputy sheriff says he had no choice but to open fire on the dogs to save the victim.
A Texas man out on his morning walk came close to dying when he was suddenly attacked by two vicious pit bulls. Fortunately, he survived, thanks to some quick-acting neighbors who jumped into action and saved the man’s life.
Surveillance video shows the off-leash dogs aggressively barking at the frightened 68-year-old man. He tried to back away, but the dogs lunged. He desperately tried to escape, but they knocked him to the ground and mauled him.
Neighbor Darrel Berryman heard the man yelling for help, grabbed a sharp tree trimmer from his garage and raced over.
“It was killing the man, and all I could do was try to save him,” Berryman said. “‘Cause he kept saying, ‘Help, help!’”
When Berryman approached with the makeshift weapon, the dogs took off. That’s when Berryman knocked on another neighbor’s door for help. But then, one of the dogs came back, looking ready to pounce once again.
The neighbor, Elmer Levigne, is a retired Houston deputy sheriff. Armed with a gun and on the phone with 911, Levigne stepped in front of the bystanders. He said he had no option but to open fire, wounding one of the dogs.
“It seems to me that somebody had been feeding them gunpowder or something,” Levigne said. “I ain’t never seen dogs this vicious.”
As first responders were on the way, Berryman tried to comfort the wounded man.
“I was saying, hold on man, the ambulance is coming, the ambulance is coming. Just hold on, man. Please, please.”
Police and paramedics arrived on the scene and brought the victim to the hospital. He’s now in stable condition and was able to FaceTime with his family.
“If it would have been a minute later, he wouldn’t have been alive,” Berryman said.
The dogs are now with animal control and will be quarantined for 10 days. Their owner was questioned by police and could face charges.
