‘It’s horrifying;’ Neighbor uses baseball bat to fight off dogs mauling owner

SPRINGFIELD — Neighbors had to jump into action to save a man being attacked by his dogs in Springfield Thursday.

News Center 7′s Malik Patterson spoke to one neighbor who had to use a baseball bat to fight off the dogs. Hear why the man called the attack “horrifying” on News Center 7 at 5:30 p.m.

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Springfield police and medics were called to respond to the 400 block of North Florence Street on reports of a man being mauled by two dogs, according to initial reports.

Tom McVey, the man’s neighbor, said he had to use a baseball bat to fight off the dogs.

“One of them had him on the ground, chewed him up, and I smacked him on the head with a baseball bat,” McVey told News Center 7. “Apparently I didn’t hit him hard enough with the dog didn’t even flinch.”

McVey said his wife was able to take hold of the ropes the dogs were on and pull the dogs off of the man.

“When the dogs got off of him, I told her to give me the ropes and her to get out of the way because I didn’t know if the dogs were going to turn on me,” he said. “They were covered in blood. It’s horrifying.”

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McVey said the man had owned the dogs for a long time and doesn’t know what could have made them attack.

“I used to go over and pet them, they were friendly pit bulls and something caused one of them to snap,” McVey said.

McVey said one person on the scene saw that one of the dogs was trying to pull the other dog off of the man, and he isn’t sure which one started the attack.

News Center 7 reached out to police to confirm what breed the dogs are.

The man had to be flown to the hospital. Police have not provided details on the extent of his injuries.

News Center 7 is working to learn more and will continue updating this story.

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