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Valley Center dog attack case set for criminal trial
By: DARRYN BENNETT - Staff Writer
Woman recounts day she says she was assaulted by two boxers | ∞
VALLEY CENTER -- Nancy Matthews still describes herself as an animal lover, despite lingering fears from what she said she went through last year.
In November, Matthews said she was attacked by two boxers while taking a walk with her two young sons on Sierra Rojo Road, several blocks from their Valley Center home. When the first boxer lunged at her 8-year-old son Heath, she said she threw herself on top of the dog.
Moments later, the second boxer emerged and the two dogs mauled her as the boys climbed a fence to safety, she said.
The boxers' owner, Pedro Balerio Torres Sr., 43, who declined a request for an interview, was ordered by a judge to stand trial on two felony charges for failing to protect the public from the dogs. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison, Torres' defense attorney Mark Spencer said.
The readiness trial is set for Oct. 19. Civil litigation is also pending.
Matthews said she was hospitalized for six days after the attack, which left her with bites and scars over most of her body. She said a doctor sutured more than 20 areas on her head, right ear, legs, arms and back, and that her right leg had a hole big enough to put her fist through. She also suffered a severed left bicep and several sliced muscles, and required a blood transfusion, she said.
The prosecutor argued in court that Torres was responsible for the attack because he had been warned by an animal control officer about the dogs' vicious nature after they bit two people in 2004, and that he ignored specific instructions on how to control them.
Matthews, a veterinarian, shifts in her seat when she recalls the attack, and speaks quietly so her sons don't have to relive it.
She and the boys had finished climbing the "infamous steep hill" ---- a family tradition ---- and had each collected a pebble to mark the accomplishment when she first saw the dog blocking their path, Matthews said. She said she reached for her sons' hands and started to back away, calling out to the Torres house for help.
"The dog cocked his head and looked at me, and then his expression turned suddenly ferocious," Matthews said.
Suddenly, she said, the dog was immediately past Matthews, leaping onto Heath.
"I leaped on the dog. It was just blind maternal instinct," she said.
The rest of her memories of the attack are less clear, a "blur of pain, screams, growls and lapses of consciousness," she said.
Matthews isn't sure where the second boxer emerged from, but said she recalled that while one dog pulled her across the gravel with his teeth sunk into her right side, the other lurched at her face. She said all she could think of was stopping them before they got her sons.
"I kept hearing the boys screaming. They were frantic, and I kept thinking, 'why won't they run away?' " She said. "Then I began to believe that maybe they were being attacked too."
Matthews said the dogs were wrestling over her, "like a chew toy," and that she curled up into a ball to try to protect her neck. Finally, she said she had what she described as an "out of body experience."
"I could hear one of the dogs chewing on my leg and then the pain just stopped," she said. "That calm just pulled me in, and I wanted to be there instead of being in this demented horror movie I was in."
Eventually Delia Vasquez, Torres' wife, ran out to stop the attack, beating the ground with a rake and screaming at the dogs who retreated into the yard, according to Matthews. Torres' attorney said Vasquez didn't call an ambulance because she speaks limited English, but offered a cell phone to Matthews, who called her husband.
Currently, Matthews' life is still in disarray, she said.
She said her medical insurance has paid $100,000 toward hospital bills, leaving her responsible for at least another $50,000. She said she has taken a second and third trust deed out on her house, and her husband turned in his life insurance policy last month to cover other expenses. The debt, coupled with the fact that Matthews isn't able to work because of physical pain and a "paralyzing" fear of dogs, has left the family financially burdened, she said.
"I'm a freak of nature," Matthews said, laughing. "I'm a vet who's afraid of dogs."
Torres' attorney said the family can't offer any compensation to Matthews until the criminal and civil proceedings are over.
However, Spencer said Torres isn't criminally liable, and that the charges the district attorney's office filed against him should be dropped because it was his 23-year-old visiting son who left the gate open the day the dogs attacked Matthews.
"The family (Torres) does feel terrible about it," Spencer said. "But it was a mistake. A terrible mistake."
Torres' son told Spencer he had been in a hurry the day he left the gate open, Spencer said.
Spencer said the dogs were never aggressive with the people who lived in the home, including five children.
The dogs, named Bruno and Kilo, were euthanized after the attack.
Life has changed for her sons too, Matthews said. Heath, now 9, became clingy and scared to be away from his mom after the attack and Patrick, 11, exhibits more anger, according to their mother. Recently, Heath has been drawing red marker scars that resemble his mom's on his arms, she said.
Matthews said she isn't sure if Torres deserves the prison time he faces if convicted, but that she never wants what happened to her to happen to someone else.
"It's in the hands of the judge and the jury now, not mine thank God," she said.
-- Contact staff writer Darryn Bennett at (760) 740-5420 or dmbennett@nctimes.com.
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Greg in Oceanside wrote on Oct 9, 2007 4:10 AM:It's time to throw the book at pet owners... who have disregard for the public's safety and think their dogs are not their responsibility. All too often I've seen people who have dogs that aren't the loving, friendly type, rather they're aggressive and are intimidating. Citizens shouldn't feel fear from a "pet" animal, unless of course this pet is protecting it's owner from a legitimate threat...-
John wrote on Oct 9, 2007 5:47 AM:Theres a whole bunch of questions not answered in this story. Bad scene though.Hope whatever happens works out right.-
Lola wrote on Oct 9, 2007 8:52 AM:This poor woman and her children have sufferered enough. Those dogs should have been euthanized when they bit the first set of people. ...-
One bite and gone wrote on Oct 9, 2007 9:50 AM:The FIRST time a dog (any size, any breed) bites someone the dog should be killed. No appeal, no cries that "he's friendly". After an investigation the dog should be taken immediately and put down. It's simply a public safety matter. There are two kinds of dogs in the world: those that bite and those that haven't yet, and I'll be damned before I let my daughter be injured by someone's "family pet".
Been There wrote on Oct 9, 2007 10:05 AM:I was attacked by 4 german shepherds and I know the fear of dogs afterwards. My heart goes out to Nancy and her boys. I pray for your family's complete recovery.
Josie wrote on Oct 9, 2007 1:03 PM:Nancy you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers and your community is behind you 100%. Those people should pay for being so irresponsible and careless. You are a brave woman!
TO GURU53 wrote on Oct 9, 2007 1:12 PM:There is plenty of room for dogs and people, just not stupid people with vicious dogs!
To One Bite wrote on Oct 9, 2007 2:18 PM:Obviously this is not the same type of situation - this woman was NOT taunting those dogs they hunted her down. Yes there are jerks that will taunt dogs and if you live where that happens put up a solid fence so they cant get their hands through! Make an effort it is your responsibility period.
Responsibility wrote on Oct 9, 2007 3:50 PM:I don't think anyone is saying this woman was taunting the dogs (clearly she wasn't), but it's not possible to make a blanket statement that any dog that bites any person under any circumstances needs to be put down immediately. Everyone seems to think everything is someone else's responsibility, but there's plenty of responsibility to go around. If you provoke a dog and get bitten, it's your fault, not the dog's. If you're somewhere you shouldn't be and run into a dog that IS supposed to be there, and you get bitten, that's your fault. If you're just walking along the road and a dog charges up and attacks you, well, that's the dog owner's fault, and he or she needs to pay the price.
dog doubter wrote on Oct 9, 2007 4:44 PM:Not to minimize the terrible damage to this lady, but I do not like it there are 5 to 10 houses with dogs that bark viciously when I am simply walking around my large block on the public sidewalk. It really takes the joy out of a simple walk for health. I wonder what would happen if one of those dogs got out. I also do not like it when the dog owners are washing their car in the driveway or working in their front yard and leave their dog loose. I come walking along and the dog barks and runs aggressively toward me. I yell crossly at the dog, the owner yells at the dog or grabs it. So far I have not been bitten. There is one street nearby I would like to walk on, but avoid it because of the dog there. I do carry a baseball bat in my car trunk to use if I ever am driving by and see a dog mauling a kid or an adult.
Alf wrote on Oct 9, 2007 7:58 PM:The definition of an irresponsible dog owner - letting their dog run loose, not being on a leash, in public. Lock up those sorts of people and destroy their dogs. Regards, Alf.
JP wrote on Oct 9, 2007 11:36 PM:All people who walk, either just for exercise or with their own pet, should carry pepper-spray. It is legal, and effective; against all kinds of animals both human and four legged. In this day and age it is irresponsible to not take one's self defense into one's own hands. The police are not here to protect. They are now report takers after the fact.
Paul wrote on Oct 11, 2007 4:39 PM:Nancy, as a dog owner, I so feel for your hesitations and fear that now exists in both you and your sons. I have a very large, but quiet teddy bear of a loving dog, I wish you and your sons could just meet her, it might help. I have run into packs of dogs twice in my life (both incidents in rural New England). It is scary, and unsettling. People need to be responsible with thier dogs and pets.
Deane wrote on Oct 19, 2007 6:38 PM:I was nearly killed at work by a dog.Were it not for a first class emergency hospital, I would be dead.I was scalped and other injuries too numerous to mention here. The prosecuters office said the attack was not intentional and decided all this without seeing the detectives report or any other information and without talking to any witnesses. The victim is stuck with the bills and the dog owners not even a ticket.
Debbie wrote on Dec 4, 2007 7:43 AM:I am a dog lover who has rescued hundreds during my lifetime and have 7 of my own. Never has a dog of mine bit or injured anyone. Because of how I treat & train them. I see this all the time as a Volunteer with the ASCPA. It is 100% the person's responsibility-not the "dogs." Dogs become vicious due to the way they are treated by people. And yes, the person is responsible & accountable for their dogs actions. My yards are fenced, with a fido shock system in place, my dogs are licensed, neutered, have ID tags, are well cared for , loved and they are all beautiful and healthy. I blame Animal Services for not holding Mr. Torres and his wife accountable back in 2004. I am an avid walker and I carry pepper spray and a walking stick always for safety and yes I have had to use them for protection from people and dogs. I am sickend by the courts decision and outcome-this is an outrage, Mrs. Matthews must suffer her loss of health, income, and her physical injures due to the irresponsibility of the Torres Family-period... In my area of San Diego, we have a huge problem with the Mexican culture, illegals and the way they treat their animals-the person is to blame and Mr. Torres needs to pay for all of her bills-but he cannot "repair" her damaged body, spirit nor can he make up for the way he treated his dogs to make them attack or mean, that is caused by mistreatment, period. A neighbor of mine chains his 2 rotties up, he told me he wanted them "mean" to be good guard dogs-after further investigation by our dept., we found he was hitting them daily, hitting his pit bull to prepare them to be "fighter's" to make money for him, he taught his young sons to do the same and allowed them to kill chickens and rosters, guess what, his sons are now grown, and are rude, cruel young men who mistreat their animals and people. Some day, I hope people will understand that no animal is bad, it is the person-I have more faith in animals by far than people. Mrs. Matthews, I am so sorry our legal system is so screwed up, and protects the responsible owner more than it protects YOU, the victim.
DD wrote on Dec 4, 2007 7:52 AM:I live in the country, I walk daily, I carry pepper spray, walking stick when I wlk with my dogs, several times I have had to chase off a viciouys dog tryng to attack me or my dog, each time, I confronted the "owner" of that dog -in every case, the dog was "MEAN" because the person was a jerk, who mistreated the dog and thought it COOL they had a "Mean" dog. Never did I meet a mean dog who had a wonderful, innocent person as the owner, Please wake up people and our legal system-People MUST be held accountable for their treatment of their animals-a dog is not born mean, it becomes vicious due to it's environment and our laws need to hold people accountable-so Mr. Torres gets 90 days in jail, the 2 dogs are dead, the lady is scarred for life, her 2 sons witnessed all this...Poor Mr. & Mrs. Torres-right-WRONG-both of them need to be in jail for 3 years and pay 100% of her medical bills, loss of compensation and lose their home. So they have 5 children ..., poor Mr. & Mrs. Torres. I can tell you about all ...I know-the ones that think it "COOL" to have a pit bull, or rottie who is mean, ...and so this women saves her kids lives by fighting these 2 dogs, and how long did it take for Mrs. Torres to come to her aid, oh and she could not speak English............
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