A woman mauled by a massive pit bull in San Francisco has revealed the dog attacked her after she agreed to watch it for a man she barely knew.
Amber King said she had tied the dog to a post in the notorious Tenderloin neighborhood when it somehow got loose and charged at her, leaving her with devastating injuries that required multiple surgeries.
“The guy was moving and he needed help. Me, I’m a helper. So I just happened to help, and I had the dog tied up. How? The dog got loose. I don’t know,” King told ABC7.
The pit bull pinned King down and mauled her for 10 to 15 minutes as she desperately used her arms to protect herself.
“I was going to die. If I didn’t fight, I was going to die. I kept hearing the crunching sound of the dog biting me,” she said.
Police were called around 9:20 a.m. to Larkin Street between Eddy and Turk streets, where officers found King severely bleeding and the blood-covered dog still nearby.
Video captured a bystander trying to keep the animal away before an officer was able to restrain it with a catch pole.
The pit bull later collapsed and died at the scene before San Francisco Animal Care & Control arrived.
King spent a week at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and underwent multiple surgeries.
Nearly two weeks after the attack, her left hand remains severely damaged, while she is slowly beginning to regain movement in the fingers on her right.
“My left hand is completely damaged. Every nerve, every bone,” King said.
She described moving her fingers as “baby steps,” saying even the smallest movements remain difficult.
King, who is homeless, said she continues to relive the mauling and has been unable to sleep without having nightmares.
King also credited a bystander identified as Ashley with helping her during the attack. The two have since spoken by phone.
“Thank God for that Ashley lady,” King said. “Whoever she is, I’d like to give her an extra thank you for coming and acknowledging what I was going through.”
Authorities previously said investigators were examining whether an underlying medical condition or exposure to a foreign substance could have contributed to the dog’s violent behavior and sudden death.
No cause has been determined.
“I’m so glad to be here. Glad to be here,” King said.
She added that she wants the dog’s owner to come forward.
Meanwhile, San Francisco police have said that no one has been held accountable for the attack, and it remains unclear whether investigators have identified the owner.
