Sarasota dog killed, another bitten on neighborhood walk; attacking dog shot by deputies

Man and his dogs attacked while on walk

Two Sarasota dogs and their owners were attacked by a pair of pitbulls while out on their routine walk. FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon reports.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Two Sarasota dogs and their owners were attacked by a pair of pitbulls while out on their routine walk.

The backstory:

It's a walk Andrew Nibley takes with his dogs nearly every day, but a walk in his own neighborhood turned into the unthinkable. Just minutes into their walk on Thursday night, they were all attacked by two aggressive dogs. 

"It happened so quickly that I couldn’t do anything," he told FOX 13. 

Courtesy: John Virgili

It happened at around 7 p.m. in his Gulf Gate community with his dogs, Diana and Chauncey, which would be their last together. 

"We got down to the end of the street, and out of the shadows came two pitbulls not on leashes. They attacked my dogs who were on leashes," he said. 

They had just reached the end of their street at Bispham Road near Lockwood Terrace when Diana, Nibley's English Setter, took the brunt of the attack.

"They just dragged her across the street. Left a huge pile of blood," said Nibley. 

Courtesy: Kelly Colbert

Nibley said Diana didn't fight back, but his Carin Terrier named Chauncey tried to stop the attack. That's when Chauncey ended up getting bit, and Nibley and other neighbors tried to stop the attack. 

Dig deeper:

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said a responding deputy was forced to fire one shot at the attacking dogs, hitting one in the shoulder. 

"Any time there’s an attack, we are trained to stop the threat," said Matt Binkley, the community affairs manager for SCSO. 

The sheriff's office said the dogs were being walked by their owner's roommate and did not appear to be leashed. Deputies had to apply a tourniquet to that man's hand for the amount of blood loss. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital with punctured wounds to his back and legs. 

Nibley was bitten on the hands and thigh. 

"This is the time that you walk the dogs. The sun is setting, the sidewalk is supposed to be a safe place off the roadway, you’ve got your dog on a leash. You’re doing everything that you should do and then, out of nowhere, you’re attacked by an aggressive mixed-breed animal. It’s not what you expect to happen," said Binkley. 

SCSO said the owner of the aggressive dogs made the decision to euthanize the dog that was shot. Animal Services will determine the next steps for the remaining dog. 

"With our animal services. There is a procedure in place that they’ll have to set some standards for that dog owner to meet for it to stay on track and not continue with this behavior," said Binkley. 

Courtesy: Kelly Colbert

What they're saying:

Diana lost her life following a simple evening walk. Now, Nibley and his wife want to make sure their neighbors and dogs are kept safe from what they went through. 

"We just want to make sure that nobody else has to go through this nightmare that we went through, and we are hoping that we can talk to the authorities and see what can be done to keep these dogs from doing it ever again," he said. 

What's next:

SCSO said, as of now, there are no charges against the owner of the aggressive dogs. 

Nibley and his wife are both animal advocates, and said each of their dogs was rescued from shelters. They also produced a film called Madonna of the Mills, about Amish puppy mills.