Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
First she tried to stop the animal with a broom. Then she hit it with a small axe. When that didn't work, Pat Turner said she shot and killed a stray pit bull that ran into her Hutto home and grabbed her small dog.
Her 11-year-old poodle/Yorkshire terrier mix named Chet survived the attack on Jan. 11 after receiving several stitches, Turner said.
"I am shocked that I was able to go from picking weeds in my front garden to shooting a pit bull to death in my bedroom," she said Friday at her house on Mitchell Drive. "If that dog had polished off Chet, it could have turned on me."
Hutto Senior Animal Control Officer Wayne Cunningham confirmed the attack occurred but said he could not release any more details.
The American-Statesman has submitted an open records request for the report on the dog attack but has not yet received any information.
Officials found the owners of the pit bull that was killed, according to notes from Turner's veterinarian, Dr. Riley Ward.
Chet received multiple punctures at the base of an ear and on his neck and face, had bruising on his neck and blood all over his ears, neck and paws, according to the vet's notes.
Along with receiving treatment for his wounds, he also had to get re-vaccinated for rabies because officials had told Turner the pit bull did not have a rabies vaccination, she said.
Turner, a 73-year-old retired broadcast journalism professor, said she doesn't know who owned the pit bull. Chet spent three days in an animal hospital not eating before she brought him home, she said. The dog is now on painkillers and antibiotics for an abscess in his neck, but is eating again, Turner said.
Turner said the incident began that morning when she saw the grey pit bull trotting up to her while she was in her front yard. The dog was wearing a pink collar but no tags, she said.
Afraid she would be bitten, Turner said she started to head into her house through the garage. The stray dog followed, so she hit it first with the handle of a broom. That didn't work, she said.
She then picked up a small axe she uses for gardening and hit the dog with the blunt end of it, she said. That didn't stop the pit bull, which was so strong it pushed past her when she cracked open the door from the garage into her house, she said.
The stray dog then grabbed Chet by the neck. Chet, who weighs 22 pounds, had been waiting as usual by the door for Turner. The pit bull ran into the living room with Chet in its jaws, Turner said.
"There was blood spray on the living room wall and there were little clumps of black poodle fur and blood on the living room floor," said Turner. She said the pit bull was in the "most frenzied killing mode" she had ever seen.
At that point, Turner said, she began hitting the pit bull with the sharp edge of the axe but it didn't even break the dog's skin.
The stray dog, with Chet still in its jaws, then ran into Turner's bedroom and pinned the poodle/terrier mix to the floor.
"I have a Colt .38 revolver in my nightstand and got it and shot the pit bull twice at the base of his skull," she said. "After the second bullet, the pit bull's jaws relaxed and my dog fled."
She said she ran to her front yard and screamed and waved her arms for help, but two cars passed without stopping. She then called 911 at 11:45 a.m., Turner said. After police and animal control officers arrived, she rushed Chet to an animal hospital, she said.
She said she was so shaken by the attack that she went to see a psychologist for the first time. "I've never shot a gun before in self-defense," she said.
Turner said she is very concerned about the safety of other people who walk in her neighborhood, including children who get off school buses and parents pushing babies in strollers.
"I’d like something good to come out of this," she said, "like our neighborhood and community to be safer for the most vulnerable."