MOLOAA BAY — The owners of a dog killed by a pit bull on Monday are asking the public to help identify the pit bull’s owners.
The dog’s owner, Anthony Parisii of Kilauea, said his wife and a friend were walking Bella, a 3-year-old, 7-pound miniature pinscher, to Moloaa Bay beach on Monday around 5 p.m. Three pit bulls charged as the dog entered the beach access area at the end of the road.
“She is very fast and ran around the carport several times and attempted to find shelter by going though the broken fence,” Parisii said Thursday. “But the dogs cornered her in the enclosure and viciously attacked her.”
The pit bull owners came and pulled the dogs off, he added, but they left hastily without offering any assistance to his wife who lay on the grass with Bella in shock. A friend visiting from Japan ran to their home to get Parisii.
“I hurried to the scene to find my wife and Bella both very traumatized,” Parisii said. “Neighbors and others had come to help as I attempted to locate the owners of the dogs only to find that they had quickly left without leaving any contact information.”
The couple rushed Bella to Dr. Scott Sims, their veterinarian just a few miles away. Bella was treated for two hours.
“Bella valiantly fought for her life, but she could not handle being strapped down on her back with a very large tube down her throat, and the repeated cutting and removal of her torn intestines,” he said.
“Her heart finally couldn’t take it any more. This should never of happened.”
Parisii is asking for anyone who knows the couple to call Kauai Police Department at 241-1711. They can provide information regarding case number 2013-13374 for investigator Mackenzie Metcalfe.
Suzanne Brown, a neighbor of the victim, described the dogs as two un-neutered male blue-gray pit bulls and a puppy. She described the dog owners as a male, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, about 200 pounds, with a medium to dark complexion; and a female around 5 feet 5 inches tall, about 180 pounds with a light complexion. They were driving a newer, four-door, light gray car.
Brown said the only good that could come out of this tragedy is for dog owners to make themselves responsible and to at least leash their dogs in public.
“Bella was like their child and she was a very loved dog by me as well,” Brown said. “It’s important that the area is made aware of this possible threat to their own dogs or even their children.”
Stan Koga of Kapaa said he fears that pit bulls and their owners are being stereotyped. Most of the dogs behave and most of the owners are responsible, he said.
“I agree, these recent incidences were both tragic and unnecessary, and I feel for the owners and their animals,” Koga said. “My son was attacked and bitten by an off-leash lab mix some years ago.”
Koga has an 85-pound pit bull he describes as a well socialized lap dog. He is kept on a leash except when at the KHS dog park.
“He gets along great with other dogs, large and small, and loves people,” Koga said.
Dog safety works both ways, Koga said, and while it is easy to mention the aggressive dogs being off-leash, he said no one questions whether the dogs attacked were also leashed or in an enclosed yard.
“All too often, irresponsible owners feel unrealistically safe when their dogs are not in an enclosed or semi-enclosed yard,” he said. “Many times irresponsible owners allow their off-leash dogs to run right up to my on-leash dog.”
Smaller dogs in particular are quite aggressive, he added.
Tim Agustin, owner of Hawaii Pitbull Kennels in Lihue, is a breeder and has raised pit bulls since the 1980s. He agreed that all dogs should be on a leash.
The pit bull is largely misunderstood because of its appearance, he said. Other dogs that harm people just don’t get the same attention, he added.
A good breeder chooses non-alpha male or alpha female parents of distant blood lines, he said. This is to ensure good health and character traits and to avoid an aggressive nature toward other dogs or people.
Pit bulls are now used as working dogs, he said. They are police dogs and seeing eye dogs. It’s all about finding the right breeder, he said.
“We can breed out the temperament if we pick the right puppies,” he said. “People get greedy and stupid and keep the blood line too close, and that is when things happen.”
The other factor is raising the dog to be social with other dogs and people. If any dog is kept chained up in isolation, it is almost certain it will be aggressive, he said.
If raised right, the pit bull is an excellent family dog that loves people, and is not aggressive toward other dogs, he said.
