Puppy Attacked In Colorado Springs

A Boston terrier puppy was attacked by a pit bull at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Sunday afternoon.

?His shirt was covered in blood and mud. He had this pretty limp Boston terrier puppy. He was pinching an artery on its neck, it looked like. He was running out of the park,? said Jennifer Buckley said.

Buckley was at the park at the time of the attack.

According to the Humane Society, the puppy sustained significant injuries and as of Monday afternoon was being held in an intensive care unit.

Joe Stafford, director of animal law enforcement with the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, said the puppy is expected to survive.

?Immediately following the incident, the owner of the pit bull came in and relinquished their animal for euthanasia,? said Stafford.

Stafford said incidents like these can be avoided if owners abide by the rules of the parks.

?The requirement in that dog park is to have your dog on voice command, as it is in every other dog park. If your dog is not trained, socialized, exercised on a regular basis and you cannot keep it in voice control then you probably don?t want it to go to the park,? said Stafford.

Stafford said there are areas of the park designated for large and small dogs, saying that these areas should be properly utilized.

?Typically large dogs and small dogs get along just fine. The problem is when a large dog attacks a small dog, the extent of the injuries can be fairly significant,? he said.

Stafford said the Humane Society is not a proponent of breed specific legislation, saying bans and restrictions have not been effective in other cities.

?The county?s role is to provide those amenities. It?s our role to react when a situation occurs. It is the uses responsibility to educate themselves to make sure the animal has been trained adequately, to know the rules of the park and to follow them so we can avoid these types of situation,? Stafford said.