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Green Valley Ranch residents looking for owner of off-leash dogs after violent attack

Tom Pageler with his dog
Posted at 10:06 PM, Jul 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-20 00:26:17-04

DENVER — It's been more than two months since an off-leash dog attack injured a Denver man and almost killed his dog, and he and his family are looking for answers.

Tom Pageler loves walking with his small, chipper dog named Lucky. There are plenty of open spaces for them to walk around in his 55 and up living community in Green Valley Ranch.

"We just love her personality. She wants to play all the time," Pageler said. "She's full of joy."

But the last two months have been about recovery for Lucky after she was almost killed by two off-leash Rottweilers in a nearby park. Pageler says the two dogs attacked him and Lucky on May 8 as they were on a morning walk.

"I got one deep bite in my right hand. Then they got me somehow across the forehead, about a three inch gap," Pageler said. "They had her in the emergency room for 12 hours that day."

Lucky suffered deep bite wounds to her shoulders and stomach. Pageler says if he had not acted quickly, Lucky could have died almost immediately.

"I could see one of them got into her, and it was a bad bite," he said. "They were trying to kill her."

Denver Animal Protection is investigating the case, and Pageler and his wife, Mary, say they are trying to get answers as well. According to Denver city law, dogs are required to be secured on a leash at all times unless they are in a designated city dog park.

"You are not supposed to run these dogs off-leash," Pageler said. "He does not care."

Denver police did not respond to a request for comment, but Pageler says investigators are continuing to search for the off-leash dogs' owner.