SAGINAW, MI — Back in November, two Saginaw women were taking morning strolls when a pack of pit bulls attacked them. Though both women survived, a smaller dog belonging to one of them was not so fortunate, suffering fatal wounds in the mauling.
Months on, prosecutors have decided no criminal charges will be forthcoming.
“It’s not because we don’t want to issue charges,” said Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Blair N. Stevenson. “The way the law is written, when a dog bites someone, we cannot charge the owner criminally unless the dog has been previously declared a dangerous animal, which requires a civil process.”
Prosecutors could also issue charges if the injured person suffered maiming or debilitating injuries, which did not occur in this situation, Stevenson said.
The matter began about 8:07 a.m. on Nov. 25, when a woman in the 4100 block of Mackinaw Street stepped out of her house with her 20-pound, 1-year-old emotional support dog on a leash. Suddenly, three pit bulls appeared and began attacking the smaller dog, according to reports obtained via a Freedom of Information Act from Saginaw County Animal Care & Control Center.
The woman tried fighting off the dogs with her bare hands. The pit bulls knocked her down and began biting her lower torso.
A neighbor happened to pull up as this was going on and tossed a metal tool to the woman. The woman grabbed the tool and used it to fend off the dogs, then scooped up her own dog and ran for the neighbor’s vehicle.
The woman managed to get in her neighbor’s vehicle. They took the injured dog to Great Lakes Pet Emergencies, where it had to be euthanized.
The woman went to an area hospital for treatment of her wounds.
Saginaw police officers responded to the incident. About 13 minutes later, a woman out for her morning run near Weiss Street and Linda Avenue was also attacked by the three pit bulls. They bit both of her legs and one jumped on her back.
Another woman driving by pulled over and allowed the attacked woman to get in her vehicle. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Police soon identified the pit bulls’ owner, living on Mackinaw Street. He retrieved one of the dogs while police recovered the other two.
The dogs’ owner told officers he had noticed his dogs were not in his backyard but was unsure how they managed to get out as the gate was closed.
The day after the attacks, the pit bulls’ owner surrendered all three dogs to Animal Control. They were subsequently euthanized.
Reports indicate Animal Control officers have received six prior dog-related complaints at the owner’s house since 2018.
The woman who was initially attacked and her daughter wrote letters to county officials, describing their trauma.
“I am too afraid to walk around my own block now,” the woman wrote. “I don’t sleep well and I have nightmares when I do sleep. I have survivor’s guilt because I lived and our innocent loving dog did not.”
She asked officials to ensure criminal charges were issued and that the pit bulls’ owner could not own dogs again.
Owned-dogs attacking residents has been on the rise in Saginaw County in recent months.
On Oct. 30, a pack of 18 pit bulls attacked a Richland Township woman and her beagle, killing the smaller dog. All 18 pit bulls were rounded up and several have since been euthanized.
On the morning of Jan. 20, an 89-year-old Richland Township woman and her Shih Tzu were attacked by a neighbors’ Great Dane and Alaskan Malamute. The 14-pound Shih Tzu died of its injuries the next day.
