ONLY ON 2: Janyla Wise, 13, Speaks Out After Being Mauled By 2 Pit Bulls Outside Her West Englewood Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Janyla Wise, 13, was back home Tuesday night – but shaken after being mauled by her neighbor's pit bulls outside her West Englewood neighborhood home.
In an exclusive interview, she told CBS 2's Jermont Terry how those dogs tore into her flesh.
Janyla's grandmother changed the girl's bandages as they met with Terry. Janyla is on the mend, but she will need lots of tender care over the next few weeks after stepping into the alley behind her house in the 7300 block of South Winchester Avenue the afternoon before.
"It was two dogs, and I've seen them before," Janyla said.
Those dogs would normally just bark. She said they were at the gate "every time I come out the house."
But on Monday at 4:41 p.m. as Janyla tried tossing the trash, those to pit bulls attacked.
"They jumped up," she said, "and I was trying to like get away, but they were still on me."
The pit bulls locked onto Janyla's leg.
"I felt them mostly biting on this leg," she said.
The dogs' owner rushed out, but could not gain control of his pets. Meanwhile, a few kicks allowed Janyla to break free – but she fell.
At that point, the dogs pounced on her.
"When the dogs got off of me, this finger was like pulled back, my leg was open, this ear was detached," Janyla said as she highlighted her wounds.
She broke free only after the dogs' owner – a Firearm Owners Identification Card and concealed carry license holder - shot both animals, killing one of them.
"I didn't even hear the gunshots, surprisingly," Janyla said. "I didn't even know he had guns until they said something."
Her family jumped in the car and rushed her to the emergency room.
"They kept saying like, 'Oh yeah, you're good, you'll be good, you'll be good,' but like blood was just dripping," Janyla said.
"I was also giving affirmations, but at the same time, hearing the pain in the voice," said her grandmother, Cheryl Winchester.
Winchester, a registered nurse, is grateful that Janyla survived the attack.
When it comes to the dogs' owner, Winchester said: "To the extent that he was out there at that given time, he took it upon himself to do what was necessary to get those dogs off of my granddaughter. I'm grateful."
But the family is furious that the attack happened in the first place.
"You've just got to know your dog and know that particular breed needs to be chained," Winchester said.
The family said what played out in the alley this week is the second time those dogs brought pain to their family in a year.
"Last time, it was Christmas Eve," Winchester said. "I spent it at a veterinarian's office."
They claim the dogs mauled their small pet, and this time, it left Janyla with horrible wounds.
"We've seen where the dogs have been out before," Winchester said. "That's, you know, the problem."
One dog was shot dead in the alley, while the other was wounded and taken by Animal Care and Control. The family said the neighbor did reach out to see how Janyla was doing, but they didn't have too much to say to him.
The family did, however, have a lot of good things to say about the staff at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for the care they took with Janyla.
Janyla will also have extremely good care at home, as her mother and grandmother are both registered nurses.
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