‘It’s almost like a dream or nightmare’

An elderly couple and their dog are recovering tonight from cuts and other injuries caused by two separate and unrelated dog attacks within a week.

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The first attack involved at least two stray dogs that ran into Carl and Linda Kegley’s Dayton backyard and attacked Carl and their dog, Bailey, the couple said Friday.

“They were trying to tear her apart,” Carl Kegley said. When he used her body to protect Bailey, the stragglers went after him.

Days after the attack, a dog that was being led off-leash ran away from its owner, entered the yard and attacked Bailey.

“It was so chaotic. It’s almost like a dream or nightmare”, recalls Linda.

The owner used a garden hoe to beat his animal and take it away from Bailey, she said.

As News Center 7’s Kayla McDermott reported at 11, the Kegleys are sad, scared and angry.

Stray animals will be left out because of the warm weather and because shelters are full, said Kara Hamby, public information officer for the Montgomery County Animal Resource Center.

“We are fuller than ever,” she said. “There are a lot of dogs out there who need homes.”

Whether they have a home or not, dogs sometimes attack for no apparent reason.

Kegley fell while trying to get to Bailey during the second attack. She needed stitches after the ordeal. The force the owner used on his dog tore the hoe into three pieces. Then they both took off.

Hamby said that under the Ohio Revised Code, owners must reasonably control their dogs at all times.

The Kegleys want to press charges. But since the man got away, there’s not much they can do other than comfort Bailey.

“She’s really traumatized,” Linda said. “She’s not the same.”

Hamby suggested that anyone who comes across stray animals and believes they may become violent should contact ARC at 937-898-4457.