‘I felt like a chew toy,’ Columbus woman maimed in dog attack testifies during hearing

A Columbus judge will determine the fate of a dog who injured a local woman so badly she had to have a portion of her leg amputated.

Cowboy, a pit bull mix, is facing euthanasia after he attacked a Columbus woman and injured her leg and hand, according to court documents.

Attorney Thomas Gristina, representing the Columbus Consolidated Government, asked Superior Court Judge John Martin to keep Cowboy impounded until a hearing can be held on whether the dog should be euthanized.

On March 1 in the 1100 block of Curtis Street in Columbus, Kim Golden and an associate were viewing a house when Cowboy attacked her, she testified Friday.

Golden said it took her a moment to realize what was happening. She sustained injuries to her left ankle and left ring finger while trying to pry Cowboy’s jaw off of her ankle, adding that she felt like a snack or play toy for the dog, she testified.

“I saw parts of my body that shouldn’t be on the outside, on the outside,” Golden said.

She was taken to Piedmont Columbus Regional and then airlifted to Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Golden said doctors told her that all three major arteries that run from the leg to the foot were severed and her foot had to be amputated.

Golden told the court she now has to the crawl up the stairs in her house in order to take a shower.

Golden then left the courtroom as the city presented a video of the dog attack.

Cowboy was picked up by animal control. Lt. Paul Syck of Columbus Animal Care & Control testified that Cowboy’s chain reached to the property Golden was viewing.

Syck said that he has only dealt with one dog that was more aggressive than Cowboy.

Owners respond

The dog’s owners, Jacqueline Crockett and Edward Murray, represented themselves in defense of their dog. The defendants argued that Golden either entered their property or provoked Cowboy into attacking her.

Murray was asked whether he had made attempts to pay for Golden’s medical bills.

“Why should I have to pay for something that she did?” he said.

Murray testified that Cowboy attempts to attack anyone who comes onto his yard. He described the dog as a “Red Devil” pit bull and saying the dog is “more protective” when asked whether Cowboy was a purebred pit bull.

“I mean just a little bit of common sense, and none of this would’ve happened,” Murray said.

Judge Martin will review the video of the attack before making a decision in the case. His decision will impact whether the dog remains impounded until the defendants’ appeal on the dog’s status can be heard before an Animal Control Board.

“Well it’s sort of stunning actually, the lack of contrition from the dog’s owner,” Gristina said. “I was not expecting him to do that, to actually blame Miss Golden in court. He might as well have had an alligator chained in his front yard. That’s how dangerous that dog is.”