BOULDER, Colo — Editor's note: This article contains details of an attack that may be disturbing to some readers.
A man is still in the hospital after his dog attacked him at his Boulder home the day before, Boulder Police said Monday while releasing more information on the attack.
About 8:17 a.m. Sunday, the Boulder Police Department received calls from multiple neighbors saying a man was being attacked by his dog outside his home in the 3200 block of Palo Parkway.
The attack originated inside the home and moved outside. The man was trying to hold onto the dog so it would not attack anyone else, police said in a news release.
A neighbor stabbed the dog twice with kitchen knives before officers arrived. The dog continued biting the victim when officers arrived. Officers tried to use a Taser to subdue the dog, but that did not work, according to police.
The dog then turned and began attacking an officer, who fired shots at the dog, hitting it several times, police said.
>The video below contains video from an officer's dash camera showing part of the attack.
Officers were able to apply tourniquets on the victim's arms that doctors credit with saving his life.
As officers started providing medical treatment to the victim, the dog got up and charged officers a second time. The dog was shot again by officers, police said.
The dog's owner was taken to an area hospital in critical condition, according to Boulder Police.
Boulder Police Department Animal Protection was called to the scene and euthanized the dog due to the severity of his injuries. The dog's body was taken to the Colorado State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital for a necropsy to rule out rabies, a brain tumor, accidental toxin ingestion and other environmental causes for the attack, according to police.
“This was a disturbing event for everyone involved and the mauling could have truly been much worse if not for our officer’s swift actions,” said interim Police Chief Stephen Redfearn. “Though we all love our animals here in Boulder, this dog posed a life-threatening risk to the man he was actively attacking as well as the multiple community members nearby, and we ultimately had to protect those lives first.”
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