A 68-year-old man taking his daily morning walk in the neighborhood was viciously mauled by two unmuzzled Pit Bulls in Harris County, near Houston, Texas, on August 26, 2021. The man identified as Ha Mui was seriously injured in the incident and needed several surgeries on his neck, face, and body.
The distressing episode was captured on a home security camera and it showed Mui walking on the sidewalk when two off-leashed Pit Bulls approached him and started barking aggressively. He tried to back away but the dogs attacked and mauled him to the ground. Mui was seen desperately trying to get up but was helpless and overwhelmed by the strength of the dogs biting him all over.
A Cry For Help
A neighbor, Darrel Berryman, heard the commotion and the man yelling for help. Berryman immediately grabbed a sharp tree trimmer from his garage and helped Mui by fending off the dogs with it. He called for other neighbors to help as the dogs backed off from the fallen elderly. He also recalled, “They were killing the man, and all I could do was to try to save him.”
Another neighbor, Elmer Levigne, rushed to the scene with a gun and called for 911 for help. The retired Houston Deputy Sheriff was also trying to fend off the Pit Bulls but one of the dogs was lurking and was ready to pounce on Mui again. Levigne had no choice at this point and opened fire, wounding one of the dogs.
Levigne commented that he had not seen dogs displaying such viciousness. “It seems to me that somebody had been feeding hem gunpowder or something,” he said. The paramedics and the police arrived at the scene moments later and the unconscious Mui was then taken to the hospital.
A Thankful Family
Ha Mui’s family was very thankful to the neighbors and the police who helped their father whom they thought would have died if it weren’t for the swift response of the neighbors. They were unaware of the incident at first because their father did not have any identification or cell phone with him when the paramedics rushed him to the hospital.
Mui’s daughter, Anh Le, recalled that she kept calling four different hospitals that day to find any reports of a lost elderly man. “I finally called the police and then an hour later they called me back and told me that he was at the Memorial Hermann in downtown.”
Ha Mui lost a lot of blood and received several injuries in his body including his jaw. Reconstructive surgery was also performed on his ears and would require several surgeries down the road.
His family was able to talk to him on his hospital bed via Zoom three days after the incident. “He wanted to talk and tried hard to tell me something, but he couldn’t,” Anh Le said. “It’s hurting a lot when I see my Dad just lay there.” She said that her father is retired and has picked up photography as a hobby and has offered his services for free.
The incident is being investigated and the dogs are under quarantine for 10 days at the Harris County Animal Services. The dogs’ owner was questioned by the police and could face criminal charges.
Off-leash and unmuzzled Pit Bulls may certainly pose a danger, especially when they are not properly trained nor socialized well. A similar incident happened in another neighborhood in Detroit and the victim turned out to be a child. Pit Bulls were notorious for biting incidents, sometimes fatal. Pit Bull owners are always encouraged to train their pooches well and leash them with muzzles while bringing them outdoors.
