KC family pushes ban on pit bulls after attack
KANSAS CITY (AP) - In his hospital bed, Alan Hill closes his eyes and can still see the pit bulls that nearly mauled him to death more than a month ago.
The developer's wife, Connie, says her 59-year-old husband often cries and does not want to be left alone. Still on a feeding tube, he doesn't see any progress in his recovery, she says.
Speaking with reporters for the first time since her husband was attacked, Connie Hill has a horrifying story to tell. She hopes it is enough to convince local leaders to ban the breed.
"Those dogs were eating him alive," Hill said Friday. "He said they were just chewing his skin."
Alan Hill had just finished mowing a lot he owns in Independence on May 4 when he was attacked by the three dogs. As they dragged him through the vacant lot like a rag doll, he tried fighting them with his hands, but it didn't work.
He later told his wife that his only hope was to crawl beneath his Jeep, which was parked nearby. But the biting and tugging continued.
When he finally got away and into the vehicle, he called 911 and told a dispatcher he was dying.
If he hadn't been so physically strong and in good health before the attacks, he probably would have.
"If that wasn't the case, he wouldn't have made it to the hospital," said Charles Beggs, trauma medical director at Liberty Hospital, where Hill remains. "He would have bled to death in the field."
Hill arrived at the hospital unconscious and in shock, Beggs said, and remained on the brink of death for days.
Beggs said he didn't know how long Hill would remain hospitalized but added that the rehabilitation process will be long and he will have to overcome psychological scars.
Hill was one of at least three people attacked by the three dogs that early May day. One man who was mowing a few blocks from Hill's property and another who was walking up the street nearby also were attacked. Both have been released from the hospital.
Police believe the owner of the dogs was Paul Piper, 43, who faces 10 municipal charges, including three counts of failure to control a dangerous dog.
Authorities think Piper and a woman were living with the dogs at a house that was supposed to be vacant. They believe the two had left the dogs at the house and the animals got loose.
Police found and destroyed all three dogs after the attacks.
Hill's family plans to present a petition with more than 1,000 signatures to the Independence City Council tomorrow night in the hopes of having pit bulls and other dogs that attack banned.
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