Complaints received about dogs before gruesome attack

Animal Control received prior complaints about dogs that mauled grandfather

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. ā€“ Jack Nortis was walking home from his overnight shift when a pack of dogs got loose and attacked him.

A bloody sidewalk at Northwest 103rd Street and Northwest 12th Avenue, just feet from the start of a school zone, was the scene of a dog mauling, video shows.

Nortis was taken to a nearby hospital following the attack.Ā 

Miami-Dade County animal control retrieved the dogs and placed them in mandatoryĀ quarantine.

According to Miami-Dade Animal Service records, there have been at least two complaints about the animals dating back to late April.

One complaint stated one of the dogs scratched the elbow of a victim, while the other was an unfounded claim that the animals got loose.

The dog owners were also warned that once a 2 1/2-month-old puppy was older than 6 months, they would be in violation of a Miami-Dade ordinance that prohibits more than four dogs on a residential lot under 1 acre without a permit. It is unknown if the owners held such a permit.

Nortis, a father of four with five grandchildren, continues to recover and was able to return homeĀ Friday.

Several good Samaritans rushed to Nortis' aid after the dogs were secured back in their pen with the gate properly secured, video showed.

"(Nortis) was screaming and there was some nice gentlemen, they were taking some bats and whacking the dogs from off of the man," Brittany Williams, who was driving down Northwest 103rd Street, said. "I pulled my car in and blocked the dogs and some gentleman (closed) the gate and (the) dogs stopped biting the man."

Under Florida state law, dog bites and attacks result in animals being euthanized.

The dog owner does reserve the right appeal the state law.

WARNING: Video below is considered graphic and may be unsuitable for some viewers.


About the Authors:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, heĀ covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba.Ā