Dogs attack man

By Anna Mitchell  

MARCH 17, 2010 8:38 a.m. (3)

A dog attack within earshot of an elementary school playground landed a Greenville man in the hospital Monday afternoon and left the school’s principal worried about the safety of her children’s walk home.

Al Hammer takes his daily walks through the Augusta Circle neighborhood, he said, because he likes the sidewalks.

On Monday around 12:30 p.m., the 76-year-old man noticed three dogs – he described them as well-groomed, fawn-colored pit bulls – sitting in the yard of a white house at the corner of West Faris Road and Argonne Drive.

Hammer owns dogs and said he kept moving. When he came back up the street 10 minutes later, this time on the same side as the white house, the dogs came running at him. He ordered them firmly to stop, but they kept coming.

“The big one latched onto my right hand,” Hammer said. “All three dogs were attacking me, but I’m not sure if the other two bit me. I think they did. I’m yelling and screaming and calling for help, but I’m not backing off.”

Hammer was knocked to the ground, and the biggest of the three dogs started lunging at his face.

“I popped up – you can’t believe how fast – and started running,” Hammer said. “As soon as I hit the middle of the street, the dogs backed away.”

Hammer was able to flag down a frightened motorist, who called 911 when he explained the situation. Standing in his own front yard Tuesday afternoon, Hammer’s hands were heavily bandaged, blood seeping through an Ace bandage on his right hand. His fingers were swollen and yellow. Deep punctures from a bite to his right thigh were 3 ½ inches apart.

“That was a very big dog,” said Hammer, who moved to the area four months ago from New Jersey. “Just think what would have happened if he’d attacked a child.”

Dried drops of blood were still evident the following day where the dogs hit Hammer. A trail of the blood crosses Argonne to the other side of the street where EMS workers treated him. A fire truck, an ambulance, police and animal control from the city of Greenville all responded.

“All the people who were involved, they were great,” Hammer said.

Animal control officers asked neighbors, a mail carrier and two landscaping crews if they were familiar with dogs meeting Hammer’s description, but their search came up empty. Because the attack occurred near the city line, county animal control officers also were notified, Greenville police Sgt. Jason Rampey said.

The dogs had not been caught by Wednesday.

Hammer was rushed to the Greenville Memorial emergency room, where doctors pieced together and bandaged his hands. The procedure required more than 200 stitches, and the deep puncture wounds in his hands were still bleeding the next day.

Without more information about the animals who bit him, Hammer faces painful rabies treatment.

The attack took place a block and a half from Augusta Circle Elementary School two hours before dismissal, but no one notified Principal Kerry Bannister of the mauling. The neighborhood school encourages children to walk home, and scores of them leave through the back entrance in the direction of Argonne Drive everyday.

“I do know there are people in the neighborhood who own pit bulls,” Bannister said. “I would be curious to know if that’s them.”

She asked if the dogs were wearing collars – Hammer said they were not – and said she would look into the incident.

Greenville County Schools spokeswoman Susan Clarke said the district was not alerted to the dog attack, but she said police assured her the dogs didn’t pose a threat to anyone at the school. She said she was not told the dogs were still at large.

“You will have to call the police about that,” she said.

The neighborhood was quiet the following day, with a few dogs barking from porches or living room windows. Though a BEWARE OF DOG and invisible fencing signs were posted at the corner of Faris and Argonne, no animals were visible. A mail carrier passing through the area said he’s used Mace on dogs on his routes several times.

Rampey said his department did not alert Augusta Circle to the attack because a dog bite does not fall within lockdown protocols like a bank robbery or armed fugitive. If a vicious dog were corralled onto school grounds, that would trigger a lockdown, he said. Otherwise, he said, the reality is that many dangers face kids.

“You can Monday morning quarterback this,” Rampey said. “But there are certain type incidents that we would notify the school of.”

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Jeff Hammer  - Please Help Find These Dogs!   |2010-03-17 04:20:12 My dad is Al Hammer, the person who was attacked by these dogs. If anyone knows their location or owner, please give me a call (864)905-8850. As Anna's outstanding article stated, if we do not find the dog's soon, my dad will have to start painful treatments for rabies. Thank you Anna and The Greenville Journal for doing such a great job! Reply

Chuck  - Thank You and Good Luck   |2010-03-17 05:39:05 First off I just want to thank the reporter for not over-sensationalizing the fact that Mr. Hammer beleives that the dogs are pit bulls. This is a horrible story no matter the breed, and even worse Mr. Hammer beleives that these dogs were not even wearing collars, so obviously no identification. I really hope that these dogs are found and do not have rabies. But unless the owner is found also, the ONLY way to know would be to test their brain matter(obviously these 3 dogs need to be put down anyway), and that can take a few days. Hopefully rushed in this case though. Good Luck I hope everything works out. Stupid people letting their dogs run free. I have the sweetest little pit mix and I wouldn't even think of letting him run free. Even in a rural area like where I live. Find the owners and do something please. Reply

Mary Key  - Dog attacks   |2010-03-18 04:51:25 I live on Argonne Drive and unfortunately, was unaware of the attack until the fire truck(first responder) turned on Argonne. I was having lunch with my rather large family. I did hears the dogs barking and was getting up to see what they were "carrying on" about but became distracted by one of my grandaughters.I have witnessed dog attacks at the very same area Mr. Hammer was attacked. Just last Friday, a friend of mine was bitten in her calf by a neighborhood dog(beagle). I can tell you, witnessing a do attack is MOST disturbing! We have had victims run down our driveway screaming and bleeding. I want these dogs found, as well as their owners! When are we as a neighborhood ever going to have help controlling vicious dogs and their owners? Animal Control says their hands are tied. WHY? I feel so sorry for Mr. Hammer and our family wished him a speedy recovery. Reply

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