By Elliott Cochran
Updated: 01.28.09
A 79-year-old Montgomery woman’s walk with her dachshund escalated into a bloody attack by a pit bull mix Friday afternoon that could have turned deadly if not for her little hound’s heroics.
Cecile Murray was walking her dachshund, Baby Joe, in front of her residence on Lake View Drive when an unleashed dog launched into an unexpected and unprovoked attack on Murray that resulted in 15 stitches to repair deep bite wounds in her leg.
Murray said the attack left her stunned and surprised, but never afraid, during the violent altercation.
“I was standing at my driveway and saw the dog running up and down the street and didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “Eventually, the dog came back and attacked me. He went at my face, and I was able to knock him off.
“She turned around, came back at me and knocked me down like I was a feather. Once I was knocked down, I said, “Oh Lord, what now.”
Murray credits her resilience during the attack to the rough and tumble upbringing her older brothers put her through.
The worst of Murray’s injuries occurred when the dog, identified as a 30- to 40-pound female pit bull and Labrador mix by Montgomery County Animal Control officials, clamped down on her left leg and would not release.
Murray said she began to roll on the ground in an effort to soften the dog’s grip on her leg when Baby Joe leapt into action, launching an arsenal of thunderous barks while hurdling Murray as she rolled on her lawn.
“I was surprised; she (pit bull mix) wouldn’t bite her (Baby Joe). It was like she was afraid of her,” Murray said. “I thought in a way, her jumping over me prevented the dog from biting higher on my body.”
Murray said her attacker released her leg, due to the display put on by Baby Joe, and gave her enough time to deliver a solid kick to the dog and escape inside the home. Baby Joe also scampered to the house. Murray’s husband Art called Montgomery County Animal Control officials, who apprehended the dog shortly after the attack.
Murray went to the emergency room at Conroe Regional Medical Center, where she received 15 loose stitches to her leg, bandages to her hand, which was bitten in the attack, and care to her bruised rib, but no bones were broken, she said.
Neighbor Debbie Soliz said the dog was a neighbor’s pet and escaped from the backyard fence, but the owners of the animal could not be reached for comment.
Soliz said since the attack, the neighborhood hero has not left her owner’s side, keeping a close watch on activities revolving around Murray.
“Every time I’ve come over to visit Cecile, Baby Joe has been sitting on her or beside her,” she said. “She’s been very protective since then.”
John Geiser, bite case investigator for Montgomery County, said the pit bull mix involved in the attack is under quarantine for 10 days following the incident, which involved two other victims of the dog’s attack.
He said a 17-year-old female suffered an abrasion and an 18-year-old male suffered a laceration preceding Murray’s attack, which could lead to labeling the dog “dangerous.”
According to Title 10, Chapter 822, of the Texas Health and Safety Code, a court hearing will “order the dog destroyed if the court finds that the dog caused the death of a person by attacking, biting, or mauling the person. If that finding is not made, the court shall order the dog released to its owner, the person from whom the dog was seized or any other person authorized to take possession of the dog.”
Murray said the incident was shocking and dedicates her survival of the attack on her 7-year-old adopted rescue dog that saved her life.
“I felt like the whole thing was a dream, like it never happened to me,” she said. “Oh, Baby Joe was fighting him; she didn’t want her mama hurting.”
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Dachshund saves the day
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