Service dog attacked on walk by several aggressive dogs

Marley’s tail is still wagging, but she’s learning to navigate the world a little differently after two pit bulls attacked her on a walk earlier this week.

“We didn’t even get off of our block when the dog comes running out of the porch area, barking, (and) just dove straight under the fence and came straight over where he got her good,” said Zach Rimsa, one of Marley’s owners.

“He came home and he’s like…mom some pit bulls down the street attacked Marley. And I came out and looked and she had some deep holes in her back,” said Jennifer Lee, Rimsa’s mother.

Marley is Lee’s service dog, and now, she can’t even wear her vest to perform her duties.

“We can’t put the vest on her, she can’t help me up because I don’t want to hurt her, she can’t even go out really in public because of the infection,” Lee said.

Rimsa says it’s not the first time the dogs have caused trouble in their neighborhood.

“I remember the day they killed the cats next door,” he said. “We weren’t sure where the dogs came from at the time, and then we found out they were those dogs.”

Reports show that Lee County Domestic Animals Services responded to the house on Breeze Drive multiple times over the last two years. One incident included attacking another pet, and another report for a dog being an “aggressive stray”.

Animal services says there’s no special treatment for service dogs when they are attacked. However, the owner of the pit bulls could face a citation since the dogs were running at large.