Man, 41, mauled by three pit bulls faces amputation of both arms

More than a week after three pit bulls mauled Dudley Willis on Earline Avenue at 38th Street, his life will change even more after surgery Sunday to amputate both arms, his sister said Saturday.

“It’s going to save his life,” Alycia Willis said of her 41-year-old brother. “It would be life threatening if he didn’t have surgery.”

Dudley was attacked about 1 a.m. on Aug. 11 as he returned home from buying cigarettes at the Marathon gas station on Veterans Parkway. He sustained severe injuries to both arms and was left bleeding beside the roadway, his sister said. He was in stable condition Saturday in the intensive care unit at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s midtown campus where he already has faced a half-dozen surgeries.

“The dogs came on him and they tore him up pretty bad,” Alycia said. “The guy who owned the dogs got the dogs off of him and left him laying out there.”

Alycia said residents have had problems with the dogs running free in the neighborhood. “I had been calling the police department and the dog pound about these dogs before school got out in the summer because they were just roaming the neighborhood,” she said. “This is not the first time they have bitten someone.”

Pat Biegler, director of Public Works for the Columbus Consolidated Government, which includes Animal Control, said the three dogs were located on Thursday and housed at Animal Control.

“We finally located the dogs and they are at the shelter,” Biegler said. “The dogs have been captured. Guys stayed after work and wanted to make sure they were there. They stayed way late to make sure they were able to bring them back to the shelter and get them secured.”

The investigation is in the hands of Columbus police, she said.

Along with taking control of the dogs, records show police executed a search warrant at the Hale Drive home of the dogs owner. Police charged the man with two counts of possessing drug-related objects, possession of marijuana and probation violation but no charges are filed in connection with the pit bulls attack. The man is held in the Muscogee County Jail.

Police Maj. J.D. Hawk of the Investigative Services Bureau said detectives from the Robbery/Assault Unit started looking into the case on Thursday. He confirmed the dogs have been collected.

“They are still looking into it,” Hawk said.

From his hospital bed, Dudley was able to identify pictures of the dogs that attacked him. He also was able to identify the owner.

Alycia also said they were treating her brother as if the dogs have rabies. And doctors won’t know how much of each arm will be lost until they start the surgery.

The family supports all efforts to save Dudley’s life. “Yes, we are very supportive,” Alycia said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 12:00 AM.