The owner of a pit bull that attacked a pregnant woman and her dog in Fort Lauderdale is apologizing for the attack.
“I feel bad. I really do," Miguel Ruben Rohloff told NBC 6. "... That was a little dog, and I thought, oh my God, and I saw the scar."
Danielle Lowell and her Jack Russell, Messi, were attacked on Davie Boulevard on Monday.
Rohloff called the violent attack an accident.
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“I held my dog like this and I let her go by me. It seemed like she got too close and Zoie (the pit bull) went crazy. She slipped out of the leash," Rohloff said.
Lowell is 32 weeks pregnant and was taking a regular walk with Messi.
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“It’s really traumatizing," she told NBC 6 on Wednesday night.
Zoie lunged at Messi and sunk her teeth into her neck.
“I was on the ground with two dogs and the pit bull's teeth locked into my dog's neck and the owner came," she said. "Nothing was working; I was hitting the dog, trying to release the lock. Then, I’m standing up, I'm obviously pregnant, I came to, and was like, I can’t be on the ground with this dog and pit bull. Nothing's working."
Lowell shared her story because she couldn’t find the pit bull’s owner and she was worried about the dog's vaccination status and her unborn child.
“When I found out she was pregnant. I was going crazy myself," Rohloff said.
Rohloff says Zoie is a rescue and has had the 3 to 4-year-old pup for a few months. He also claims that after the attack he tried to do the right thing before leaving the scene.
“And I waited, waited for animal control and police and no report," Rohloff said.
Broward County Animal Control did make it to Rohloff's home Thursday to investigate. The investigation found Zoie is vaccinated but has to be quarantined as a precaution.
Zoie also has to wear a muzzle for life. Rohloff also has to report whenever they move.
”I truly apologize for the incident," he said. "The baby, God willing, is going to be fine because she’s got her shot so I'm not worried about that."
