Man nearly loses arm in dog mauling in Detroit

DETROIT (WJBK) - A man nearly lost an arm Friday after he was mauled by a dog he was taking care of while the owners were out of town.

"It was blood dripping everywhere," the victim's daughter said.

It was not a scene 9-year-old Cater'era Knowles expected to wake up Friday morning.

"My daddy, he was banging on the door and he kept asking someone to call 911," she said.

An American bulldog named Beethoven kept as protection attacked her father.

The daughter says the attack happened on the back porch.

Her dad had come back to clean up the area and get it ready for flowers.

The dog was in a section of the yard behind the gate, but somehow the dog got through the gate and wouldn't let go.

When he broke free, he had lost part of his arm and had to be rushed to the hospital.

"Daddy I hope you get well. I love you," Cater'era said.

The dog's owner lives out of state and the victim was taking care of it for weeks now.

First it was taken care of at the owner's vacant home until the dog itself was the victim of an attack.

"He went over to get the dog. He noticed the dog's eye was gone," Monique Knowles said.

So the dog was brought to the victim's house on Edmore and kept outside. The kids were not allowed to play with it, according to mom.

"We keep him outside. We were worried. There were a lot of people pulling up on the side of my house. I got kids and I don't believe in having shotguns," Monique Knowles said.

No one is sure what provoked the attack.

"Beethoven wasn't acting weird or vicious nothing he had a little ball back there that he played with," Monique said.

Animal control then came out and took the dog away.

"They didn't have to shoot him. They just gave him something to put him to sleep," Monique said.

As for the victim, he is expected to recover.