Daily walk turns into
horror for Big Isle manTwo pit bulls attack him, leaving
him with hundreds of stitches
HAWAIIAN BEACHES, Hawaii >> Sandra Poche can see the bone in her husband's left leg when she dresses his wounds.
That's what pit bull terriers did to Johannen "Joe" Poche; the dogs tore a chunk out of his leg April 13.
Poche suffered many other wounds. A doctor at Hilo Medical Center told Sandra Poche he stopped counting after 100 stitches to close cuts.
Poche returned home Wednesday to Hawaiian Beaches after 15 days in the hospital. He returned to this Puna district subdivision of small house lots where many yards have barking, growling dogs, separated from passers-by by fences often no more than 4 feet high.
But Joe Poche, 68, was used to the dogs, walking for miles every day, sometimes carrying an umbrella or a cane, a neighbor said.
On his April 13 walk, Poche saw a disturbance ahead, his wife said. Two pit bulls were lunging at dogs behind a neighbor's fence, and a woman in the yard was trying to ward them off with water from a hose. They had made a dent in the fence with their lunging.
Poche turned to walk home but the pit bulls jumped him.
The attack happened fast, then something distracted the dogs. Poche managed to find safety inside the cab of a neighbor's truck, waiting until the dogs were gone.
Then he waved down a vehicle belonging to the local private water company. They called an ambulance and notified Poche's wife.
Poche is home now, but doctors have told him to not even try to walk.
The two dogs were euthanized Wednesday at the Humane Society, police Capt. Derek Pacheco said.
Another pit bull, a mother with two pups, was still at the home where the others lived, barking at strangers yesterday.
The owner, Katherine Tirrell, was served with a dangerous-dog citation and must appear in court June 3, Pacheco said. The citation is a petty misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail, he said.
Sandra Poche said the couple has also contacted a lawyer in preparation for a lawsuit.