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Pit Bulls Kill Beloved Service Dog near Downtown Los Angeles

ANIMAL WATCH

ANIMAL WATCH - A savage attack by two Pit Bulls killed the beloved tiny pet dog  of a woman in Koreatown, a community just west of downtown Los Angeles, while they were on a morning walk, according to KTLA News on January 25, 2022. 

The horrific, senseless fatal mauling occurred on January 10 as Jasmine Amaya tried to stop the Pit Bulls which escaped through an open gate of a neighbor’s yard and immediately grabbed the 7-pound terrier mix and knocked her to the ground as she tried to save him by covering him with her body. 

According to the report, the owners of the Pit Bulls told reporters that LAPD responded but did not file a report on that date and Los Angeles Animal Services had not contacted them. 

However, an LAAS spokesperson confirmed to KTLA after the news broadcast  that, “The Department has received the complaint and is conducting an investigation into the incident.” 

Although Jasmine Amaya rushed Keoki to a veterinarian, he did not survive   the vicious attack and she is mourning deeply the loss of the little dog whom she called a “service dog” because he loved to provide emotional support for senior citizens in convalescent homes. 

She told KTLA that it is a “big hurt that lasts all day long, every day.” 

The vet bills for the treatment and surgery to try to save Keoki’s life and the costs of a burial when his little body is released after the investigation is completed, could leave her with bills in excess of $21,000. 

Here’s how she describes the attack on the GoFundMe page she created to try to help with the expenses: 

I fought so hard trying desperately to save my baby. Yet everytime I was able to pull him away and fully out of their mouths, choking him in the process, they’d just grab him again. Three times they tore him from me, then me from them as they were chewing & chewing on us the whole time inevitably causing immense damage to Keoki’s whole body. Despite the fact that my hands were pretty punctured up, they did not compare to all the blood Keoki lost through his wounds within those few minutes.  (See VIDEO here.) 

It was later reported that on Wednesday afternoon KTLA received a  message that both dogs had been removed from the owner’s property.                                                                       

(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a contributor to CityWatch and a former Los Angeles City employee.)