WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Miami woman is in the hospital after West Palm Beach said she was attacked by a pit bull while walking her dog Monday evening.
Police said Liliana Marbles, 35, was walking her pet Yorkie, Pochita, to a 7-Eleven near the 2100 block of 45th Street at approximately 5 p.m. when a pit bull that wasn't on a leash suddenly charged at them.
West Palm Beach Police Department
Marbles grabbed her dog to protect it from the pit bull, which then knocked the woman to the ground and bit her arms.
A person nearby raced in and kicked the pit bull to stop the attack, then called 911.
Police said the owner of the pit bull, Amanda Bethea, 38, of Clewiston, was nearby and tried to take off with the dog on her bicycle, but was quickly stopped by police down the street.
Bethea told police her two-year-old pit bull, Diamond, was on a leash that “slipped out of her hand.” But Marbles said Bethea “was holding a leash that was not attached to the dog’s collar.”
Marbles was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center with “severe bite wounds to both arms” and underwent surgery. She's still in the hospital for her recovery.
Pochita the Yorkie was not hurt.
West Palm Beach Police Department
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control impounded Bethea's pit bull. It will remain quarantined for 10 days while the agency conducts its investigation.
