Margie Shutack from Tarentum expresses her gratitude that her husband Michael is on the path to recovery following a brutal dog attack that occurred on Halloween, just a short distance from their home on East Seventh Avenue.
“God has been on our side,” said Shutack on Thursday evening. “I’m just so glad that he’s going to be all right.”
While she was at home with her son, others notified her about the assault. A local resident captured the event on their cellphone video.
As trick-or-treating began, authorities reported that a group of individuals, including Michael Shutack, were bitten by loose pit bulls in the neighborhood. Earlier reports indicated that up to eight individuals might have been assaulted.
“He looks like a zombie with blood all over him,” Margie Shutack said. “That’s how bad he was.”
Authorities fatally shot one of the two adult pit bulls that were part of the incidents. Another adult dog was taken from an apartment in a row house located at the intersection of East Seventh Avenue and lower Ormond Street by Hoffman Kennels.
Authorities first looked into the situation as if it involved three dogs, but residents later alerted them to the presence of a fourth pit bull roaming free.
Two were referred to as young dogs, and the other one was discovered. Another resident was said to have the other puppy.
According to Lt. Mark Glogowski of the Tarentum police, a woman, identified as the owner of the dogs and a resident of the apartment, has been apprehended. Authorities are collaborating with a humane officer from Allegheny County to assess the potential charges that may be brought forward.
Glogowski described the apartment as being in a shocking state, and officers were investigating how the dogs had been released.
Brad James, the head of Eureka Fire-Rescue-EMS, reported that three individuals injured in the attack are currently hospitalized and in stable condition.