A dog without a leash runs around at Pastorius Park. (Photo by Pete Mazzaccaro)

by Pete Mazzaccaro

The afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 5, was a beautiful day, a perfect opportunity for longtime hill resident Caroline Estey King to take her dog for a walk in Pastorius Park.

It wouldn’t be long, however, before King’s afternoon walk would lead to a trip to the hospital to treat at least three bites from a pit bull that attacked her.

King, who has lived in Chestnut Hill for nearly 20 years and describes herself as a dog lover, said that she entered the park at around 1 p.m on Wednesday. The park was not particularly busy. While she was walking with her dog, she noticed two dogs bounding towards her.

Suddenly, a third dog made its way over to her and that’s when things took a turn for the worse.

“As we hesitated there, a third dog – a large, all white pit bull, leash dragging behind – barreled towards me and jumped up. I thought he was going to greet me, but instead he sank his teeth into my right forearm,” King wrote in an email. “I screamed at the woman and turned my back – simultaneously trying to burrow into the bushes there and drag my dog from the fray. When I turned back around, the dog jumped up and bit my face and throat.

“It took only about 10 seconds. My face and arm were bleeding. I was in shock. The woman was older, with long white/blond hair and glasses. I asked for her information but realized I didn’t have anything to write it down so I asked her to please wait while I ran back to my house.”

King said she took her dog home, used some paper towels to stop her own bleeding and returned to the park. King said she wasn’t even gone for four minutes. When she returned, however, the woman and her dogs were gone.

Because the owner of the dog had fled, King had no way to know if the dog was properly vaccinated and was forced to begin a cycle of rabies vaccination. As of Monday, she had already received five shots and would be getting another four.

To make matters worse, King said she had just finished a seven-month-long treatment for breast cancer, and therefore her immune system was already compromised in a way that means she’ll need one more shot than normal.

Dogs roaming without leashes in Pastorius Park has long been a topic of debate in Chestnut Hill. Over the years some have suggested fencing in an area of the park specifically for a dog run, but nothing has ever come of the suggestion. King said that she had never before seen someone attacked in the park but said many of her neighbors have expressed fear about taking children and dogs to the park for fear of precisely what happened to her.

But those who do allow their dogs to run at the park off of leashes are in clear violation of Philadelphia law.

According to city code: “No person shall permit any animal other than a sterilized cat to go at large upon any street, public place or private property other than the property of the owner of the animal. All animals, other than sterilized cats, using any street, public place or private property of anyone other than the owner of the animal shall be on a leash not exceeding six (6) feet in length including the handgrip but excluding the collar and accompanied by a person able to fully control the animal at all times.”

According to the Philadelphia Animal Control and Care team, which manages the city’s pounds, any dog attack should be reported to police and investigated by the district’s Community Relations officer. That officer can bring charges if warranted against any owner found in violation of the law.

King told the Local she did in fact report the incident to police the next day. She was not hopeful that an investigation would result in finding the woman and dog who fled the park after she was attacked.

14th District Community Relations Officer Dennis Smith was out of the office and would not return until after this issue went to print.

King is in favor of a fenced in dog run. She told the Local she was going to meet with former Parks and Recreation Commissioner and current Philadelphia Managing Director Michael DiBerardinis to explore the issue further.

“We live in the City of Philadelphia and Pastorius is not a designated dog park,” she said. “There are clearly marked signs at all the entrances to leash your dog or be fined. I know some dog lovers will disagree with me, but we need to enforce the leash law in order to make this park safe for humans and their dogs again.”

King said she’s healing now but is worried that the next victim in the park won’t be as lucky.

“I’ll get better,” she said. “But what if a child is attacked? What then?”