Janice Lehet, Titusville
Our beloved Teenie died on Saturday. It was a stupid, careless and negligent act that took his young life away. Teenie was our 7-pound Yorkie. Our hearts will never heal because Teenie was ours to love while we had him, but the time was tragically cut too short.
Teenie’s story is about good neighbors, good policemen and a bad pet owner. Last Saturday, Teenie was in our yard preparing to go for a walk with his brother, Jake, and my husband as they did each morning. My husband waited in the yard because another walker was coming around our circle with his pit bull on a leather leash.
Suddenly, the walker let the leash fall, and the pit bull charged down our yard and viciously attacked and mauled Teenie. My husband, who is disabled, tried to fend off the pit bull to save Teenie. He fell on the driveway, hitting his head and face against the pavement. The walker did not come to my husband’s aid nor try to save our Yorkie. My husband kept yelling for the walker to control his pit bull to get him off our little Teenie. It was too late.
I called our vet that we were bringing Teenie in for emergency treatment. As we prepared to put Teenie in the car, the walker and his pit bull vanished. There had been no offer to help my injured husband or to save our 7-pound dog who had been attacked by the man’s 50-pound pit bull. The walker just ran away and left our little guy to die. All the way to the vet’s, Teenie kept his eyes frozen on mine with a look that said, “I know that you will make me better.” I was frantic as each mile seemed like a dozen. The Hopewell Vets were fast and tried to save Teenie. I believed that they would save him because Teenie was too frisky and vibrant a pup with so many more years to enjoy.
After what seemed hours, the vet opened the door and said, “We lost him.” It couldn’t be true. My husband and I were in shock and disbelief. We were Jello. We still are not believing that such a careless act from a bad pet owner could take our little guy from us.
I then drove my husband to the emergency room for treatment of the injuries that he received during the attack, as well as multiple bruises and a possible broken rib sustained in his fall on the driveway. My husband was barely hooked up to the IV when a Hopewell Township police officer came in to interview him. He stated that the department would start an immediate investigation and that they would “get him.” When I brought my husband home from the Emergency Room, we expected to find a note on the door from the walker. There was no note.
What is worse is that the man and his white pit bull ran away, and we didn’t know if the dog had rabies shots. We put up signs to find the pit bull and his owner. We had many calls both supportive and informational from people we never met, and our neighborhood parents responded in full force by going to the police with information that they could provide.
Neighbors are still calling to thank us for putting up the signs that made them aware of this pit bull. The Hopewell Township police acted resoundly and arrived at our door early Monday morning with Officer English announcing, “We found him.”
Several police officers had worked on the case, and they found the bad pet owner. Their action will go a long way to protect other animals and small children. How great that these guys went all out for a 7-pound dog! That’s what the Hopewell Township police did for us and the small children in our neighborhoods.
The country should know this story, not the ugly things that police face every day, such as Ferguson and more. Linda Ogittis, the animal control officer was happy to announce that the dog had been vaccinated. We were glad that we didn’t have to worry about my husband getting rabies shots. He has a serious bone marrow disorder.
We live in the River Knoll and Forest Blend area. Our neighborhoods are changing. It’s King Arthur’s belief that the old order gives way to the new. Again, many small children play in their yards and on the streets as young families replace elders who move out because their children have grown and left. It’s exhilarating to see beautiful young children ride their scooters in their driveways or to hear screams of laughter from nearby yards. Of course, parents expect that our neighborhoods are safe. They should expect such because our streets epitomize the American Dream.
We are grieving that we lost our Teenie, but we are grateful that this ferocious pit bull did not attack one of our neighborhood children as part of his master’s tests. What hurts so much is that neighbors told us stories about this man dropping his leash to test his ability as a trainer. Did our Teenie die because of this man’s arrogance? Was our Teenie chosen for the trainer’s test?
We have always loved living in Hopewell Township (Titusville). This experience confirmed for us that we have supportive neighbors and a compassionate police force that is really dedicated to serving this community. This is the kind of story that needs to be told about America’s communities and their police. This is the real story.
Janice Lehet
Titusville
