Jury Awards $157,000 In Dog Attack

A jury has awarded more than $157,000 to a man who was attacked by his neighbor’s Rottweiler while walking his own dog.

Dean Harrison, a retired long-haul truck owner and operator, was walking Sport, his toy poodle, up a gravel road near his home on the Kitsap Peninsula on Sept. 1, 1994, when the 120-pound Rottweiler approached.

A little more than a year before, Harrison and his 10-pound dog had been attacked by the same animal. Harrison that time had grabbed the Rottweiler by the neck and threw handfuls of gravel at her to drive her away.

This time, the dog, owned by Lance Cummings, was more determined.

“I put my left arm up to protect myself, and the dog grabbed it with her teeth,” he said.

That initial attack knocked the then 72-year-old Harrison to his knees.

The Rottweiler began attacking Harrison’s 12-year-old pet.

Harrison had a 6-inch knife and used it to stab at the attacking dog. His thrusts barely fazed the animal.

The dog resumed its attack, its teeth tearing deeper into Harrison’s limb.

Just as he thought he would die there, another neighbor stopped his car along the road, pulled out a .357 pistol and shot the dog twice, killing it.

Harrison says his lower arm was numb for two years after the attack. Sport has scars on both sides of his neck.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Arthur Verharen, after hearing the evidence in the case, directed a verdict in favor of Harrison.

The jury last week decided on the amount to be awarded.