NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A North Fort Myers dog owner defends his two pit bulls accused of a vicious attack, putting three men in the hospital.
The attack happened on Marx Drive in Suncoast Estates, where the men were riding bicycles on the street. They say the dogs got out of the yard and attacked them. Now neighbors are on edge, worried the dogs will attack again.
There are a number of young families and kids. They reached out to Fox 4, worried for their safety. So we went to talk to the owner, who was anything but apologetic.
Signs posted on a chain link fence at the residence warn: Beware of dog. But right now there aren't any dogs to see. Two pit bulls have been taken into custody by Lee Animal Services.
Neighbors say the dogs viciously tore into three men. "Two of them were really injured and the other really, really bad."
Residents who live on the street point to stains on the pavement that were once pools of blood where the attack took place.
Some of the neighbors are too afraid to go on camera, fearing retaliation from the dog owner. "It scares me because I don't want nothing to happen to my kids...anybody else's kids."
And there are a lot of kids who live on this street who say the dogs constantly bark at them on their way to school. "I really don't want the dogs back," says neighbor Julisa Landaverde.
But the owner is defiant, saying his dogs did nothing wrong. "You see the sign? No trespassing, beware of dogs. Come in my yard my dog will eat your ass. And your'll be lucky if my dog catches you instead of me."
The dog's owner says his gate is always shut and needs his dogs to protect his valuable tools. "My dogs were protecting my property. When I left here my gate was tied closed."
But local kids say that gate isn't always locked shut. And that's why they're scared.
"The dogs can sometimes get in this yard right here. They were loose when we're walking to school. Yea, they would come in the yard and the dogs would be barking through the fence," says neighbor Jose Landaverde.
Currently, Lee County Animal Services is conducting an investigation and won't comment yet on what will happen to the animals.
