Pit Bulls Attack Las Cruces Man And His Dog

A Las Cruces man said he was taking his daily walk with his dog when they were attacked by two pit bulls.

Bill Boling, 63, takes the same stroll each morning behind his house near Dalrymple Road and Trojan Loop in northern Las Cruces. When he was just a few yards from his house on Wednesday morning, he noticed two pit bulls headed straight for him and his dog. Boling told ABC-7 he tried to deter them by throwing a rock, but that didn’t work.

Boling said the pit bulls grabbed his Border Collie mix, Carley, and dragged her down into the ditch. Boling went down with them since he refused to let go of her leash.

“About halfway down I thought, I better do something because we’re in trouble,” Boling said.

Luckily, he had a 3-inch pocketknife with him.

“One dog had my dog by the throat and the other dog had her by the heels, trying to rip her stomach or whatever they do. The dog that had her by the throat, every time I’d stab it he’d let up a little bit, but I could never get a good shot at the jugular or anything like that. (I) stabbed it, stabbed it. My dog was screaming, poor thing,” Boling said.

His neighbor, Randy Summers, saw what happened from his backyard.

“It was pretty terrifying. I heard dogs and I heard people yelling for help, or a person yelling for help,” Summers told ABC-7.

Summers said he tried to help by tossing Boling a can of wasp spray, but that didn’t even phase the dogs.

Boling said he probably stabbed the pit bulls about 60 or 70 times before they finally backed off.

“I had my neighbor, I said, ‘Take care of my dog.’ I came back to my house and I got a pistol and I shot one of the dogs,” Boling said.

Boling said the only positive thing about this attack is it could finally make people pay attention to the potential dangers some pit bulls might pose, especially after the recent mauling that killed a baby girl in Las Cruces.

“I hope we can use this and let the powers that be realize that we’ve got a problem out here. Those dogs could’ve just as easily pulled a 60-, 70-pound child down there in that ditch and killed (him or her),” Boling said.

In the end, Boling said he’s grateful his dog, Carley, survived.

“That dog’s a good friend of mine. Thank God she’s going to make it through this,” Boling said. “I held on to my dog. I’ve got a couple blisters. I think I’ve got two knife wounds. I think I stabbed myself. It’s nothing. I’m all right. Thank heaven. The majority of the thing went to my poor old dog.”

The Doa Ana County Sheriff’s Department said the pit bulls carried microchip implants and up to date on all their shots. They identified the owner of the dogs as 26-year-old Chris Sanchez.

Deputies said Sanchez surrendered custody of the dogs and both have been euthanized.

Sanchez is charged with two counts of failure to restrain an animal and two counts of having a vicious and/or dangerous animal. Both charges are misdemeanors.

Boling’s dog, Carley, is recovering from injuries all over her body. The veterinarian at the animal hospital she’s receiving treatment said she’s going to be OK.