Couple Heartbroken After Dogs Kill Family Pet: 'Threw Him Around Like He Was A Little Toy'
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FARMINGTON, Pa. (KDKA) -- A Fayette County man is facing charges for harboring dangerous dogs that officials say attacked and killed a family pet and put a man in a hospital.
For Vonda and Bill Bryner, the last few weeks have been a nightmare.
Bill's arm is still wrapped in a bandage after allegedly being attacked by his neighbor's dogs last month. It started at the couple's Farmington home on July 18 when the Bryner's dog, Scrubbs, was walking in their yard.
Vonda told KDKA two large dogs next door went on the attack, mauling the couple's miniature dachshund.
"They saw Scrubbs coming down through the yard, so the pit bull mix, the black one, came up past the trees and grabbed Scrubbs and dragged him down into the yard," said Vonda. "They just kind of threw him around like he was a little toy, you know, just pulled at him, and just kind of tore him up."
Bill, a 73-year-old Vietnam veteran, didn't hesitate to try to save his dog.
"Bill went down into the yard to try to save Scrub, and that's when the dogs attacked him," said Vonda. "And it actually dragged Bill down through the yard towards the road."
Their teeth tore into Bill's arm so badly, he had to have extensive surgery to close his wounds.
Scrubbs died as a result of the attack.
According to court records, the dogs have attacked people in the past, including Bill's son.
The Bryners confronted the dogs' owner, Patrick Seese.
"He just said things like, 'If you don't like my dogs, shoot 'em,'" said Vonda.
No one answered the door at Seese's home on Friday.
The Bryners say they are skeptical that civil legal action would result in anything, because they say Seese is in financial ruin. But their hospital bills are starting to come in.
"I'm sure they'll be significant," said Vonda.
The state game warden told KDKA the process of confiscating the dogs began after a previous attack in September of last year. The paperwork, according to Harrisburg, simply didn't catch up with the local dog warden nor the state police. However, KDKA has learned Seese surrendered the animals and had them put down.