Family Seeks Justice After Small Dog Mauled To Death By Off-Leash Dogs
ANTIOCH (KPIX 5) -- A family is devastated but seeking justice after their little dog, a Shih Tzu-Chihuahua, was mauled to death in a Contra Costa County park by two large dogs that were off their leashes.
The incident happened on Feb. 22 in an Antioch park. 12-year-old Don Hanson took his dog Phineus on a routine walk when two larger dogs quickly approached.
"There were these two big dogs off the leash and they ran up to my dog. I tried to pull them back, but they just started attacking him," he said.
The park requires all dogs to be on leashes, but the two dogs were not.
"My son was covered in blood. He was holding his dog that was limp," said Robyn Hanson, Don's mother.
The teenage boy who was with the two dogs at the park called his father, but the father never got out of the car, according to the Hansons.
"The father came to the scene and never got out of the car. He never got out of the car to check to see if my son was OK," said Robyn Hanson.
A friendly neighbor took Don to the vet, where Phineus was pronounced dead. Don remembered that the teenage boy was wearing a shirt with his high school's name on it, which helped him to identify the teen.
The dogs that attacked Phineus have since been turned over to Animal Control, but the Hansons say that's not enough.
"I'm just angry. I'm just disappointed," said Don's father.
"I would like to see the owner, the father, be responsible. I would like to see the dogs put down, so that they can't hurt anybody else," said Robyn Hanson.
The family is also left with steep vet bills and a sudden void without Phineus.
"I'm used to his little paws clicking on the floor. I'm used to him coming up to sit next to me and this house is empty now without him," said Robyn.