Security cameras capture pit bull attack, two small dogs mauled to death

A brutal pit bull attack in the Northeast has left a family feeling unsafe in their own home and looking for answers.

Joe Grindstaff was not home at the time, but his security cameras captured the attack.

The recordings show two pit bulls circling the fence around Grindstaff’s home just before 7 a.m. last Wednesday. After several minutes, one of the dogs managed to to find its way in between the fence and a rock wall. It immediately attacked the family’s dogs.

“The pit bull destroyed pretty much one of my dogs immediately,” Grindstaff said. “Just tore him apart.” Grindstaff said he would later find pieces of his dogs scattered around the yard.

After the first dog stopped moving, the pit bull attacked the second, mortally wounding it. Grindstaff said the pit bull came at his wife when she went outside.

“She tried to intervene, and the pit bull turned and went after her. She came back inside and called 911,” Grindstaff said.

Animal control arrived minutes later, but two of Grindstaff’s dogs had already been mauled to death. Grindstaff and his family are devastated, but are even more upset about what happened next.

“We went down to the Animal Control to get our complaint number,” Grindstaff said. “I went down there and inquired as to what would happen to the pit bulls. The lady at the desk says we’re going to release them back to the owners.”

An El Paso Animal Services spokesman told ABC-7 that in Texas, dogs are considered property, and unless they harm a human, have to be returned.

“These dogs are known to kill,” Grindstaff said. “They’ve already just killed, obviously dangerous and vicious. And the lady says that’s just how we do it.”

Grindstaff said he couldn’t believe that. He considers the dogs a danger in his neighborhood. On the video surveilance during the attack, you can see people and kids on bikes going by in front of the house.

“I have kids that walk up and down here all the time,” Grindstaff said. “I just had three little kids immediately during the attack just walking down the street. And those dogs were out for blood. So it could have been those kids that were attacked instead of my dogs.”

Interim Animal Services Director Kurt Fenstermacher says if a human isn’t harmed, state law says the dogs must be returned. There is a chance that may change locally.

“At least at this point, we’re evaluating what we can add to Title 7,” Fenstermacher said, “which is a city ordinance, and what could be a dog-on-dog or an animal-on-animal type bite.”

Grindstaff is now looking at bringing a civil suit against the owner, but said he is still waiting for the full incident report to find out more.

ABC-7 asked about the owner of the pit bulls, and a spokesman for animal services said he had been fined for failure to confine for each dog. The 2 citations each carry a fine up to $2,000. But the spokesman said he could not release more detailed information about the owner.