A Koreatown woman is grieving after her service dog was fatally wounded by her neighbors’ pit bulls earlier this month.
Jasmine Amaya, owner of a 7-pound terrier mix named Keoki, said she can’t even watch video of the Jan. 10 attack, which began when two pit bulls escaped through an open gate while she and Keoki were on a morning walk.
“It was horrible,” Amaya said. “It just lasted so long, it was horrible.”
The attack lasted more than 30 seconds, and Amaya was knocked to the ground trying to protect her dog.
“My hands were around him. I could feel every tooth sinking in my hands,” Amaya said. “I just felt like nobody was doing anything to help me, and it just went on too long, and I got to the point when I was like, aw man, he’s gone.”
The dogs were eventually restrained by a man who lives at the house with the pit bulls, and Amaya rushed Keoki to the vet.
The surgery was unsuccessful, but it might still cost Amaya more than $20,000. She’s created a GoFundMe to help her pay for the procedure.
“It hurt me so bad, I knew he wasn’t going to make it. I was like, ‘Don’t worry, Keoki, I’m right here,'” Amaya said.
Amaya said she’s still recovering from the emotional trauma of losing her pet and service dog, as well as the physical wounds she sustained trying to save Keoki. She has no plans to sue the pit bulls’ owners, though she does want the dogs removed from the neighborhood.
“I just feel a huge absence and it hurts, all day, every day,” Amaya said.
The family that owns the pit bulls said police responded on the day of the attack, but did not file a report. They added that Los Angeles Animal Services has not reached out to them.