Owner of dog who attacked Detroit mail carrier ticketed, animal taken

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A terrifying dog attack captured on camera as neighbors and a passersby rushed to the aid of a mail carrier gripped in the jaws of the vicious animal.

Detroit Animal care and control captured that dog and ticketed its owner. The mailman is expected to be okay. he's in stable condition after that vicious attack.

A man who wished to remain anonymous, says the dog seen on camera attacking a mailman belongs to his aunt's boyfriend. Its name: Boss Hog.

"From what I know, basically is my cousin was leaving for work and he slipped past him and ran outside," he said.

The brutal attack happened on Ardmore Street just south of Eight Mile Friday afternoon. A neighbor tries to fight the dog off with a broom.

The man recording the video also intervenes, first with a trash container, then a spatula and even a club steering wheel lock. But the dog is unrelenting.

Another man, possibly the owner, comes out and puts a leash on the dog, which appears to be injured from all of the blows it took. The mailman was able to get to safety inside the bystander's car.

FOX 2 showed the video to Kim Arnold who lives just a few doors down from where the attack happened.

"That's bad," said Kim Arnold. "And to know that it was on my street, that's what makes it even worse."

Kristina Rinaldi from Detroit Dog Rescue says while it's only natural to fight back during a dog attack, it's best to resist the urge.

"You never want to scream, you never want to run or provoke that dog," said Rinaldi. "If that dog wants to chase something, it is going to run after you.

"You are going to want to cover your ears and your head as much as you can. You will not want to flail around; you are not going to want to scream. I know it is going to be scary and it is going to be really hard. You want to stay as still and quiet as you can to make that dog redirect and not pay attention to you."

The postal service was grateful so many people came out to the mail carrier's aid, and that this should serve as a reminder that dog owners are to keep them restrained to keep things like this from happening.