WASHINGTON -
A 75-year-old man is in fair condition with numerous bite marks and a broken arm after he was attacked by two dogs Tuesday morning in Northeast.
The Cane Corsos escaped a fenced in lot and attacked the man as he walked down 36th Street.
Neighbors heard the man's cry for help and fought the dogs off with bats, shovels and one bigger dog.
Witnesses described a brutal assault on a helpless man who was simply walking through his River Terrace neighborhood when the Cane Corsos began biting him from head to toe.
Just after six am, neighbors in this community near Benning Road awoke to the sounds of trouble.
"I heard what sounded like two or three dogs fighting," said witness Mike Johnson.
He then heard a cry for help, grabbed a baseball bat and headed for the door.
"They were chewing him up," said Johnson. "Chewing him up, on the legs, head arms, I put a blanket and stuff on him, a towel and he kept saying my heart is beating so fast, I said you are going to be all right."
Ben Campbell left his house to see, "the guy had been bitten all over, they ate him up, I mean they were even pulling his shoes off biting his toes."
Campbell says his next door neighbor came out with a shovel and a very large dog which seemed to scare off the Cane Corsos.
But the dogs had not been secured by the time police arrived.
"After the gentleman was on the ground and they were tending to him the dogs came out again later in the morning," said witness Tom Brown. "And the police asked people to stand back and drew their weapons and pointed down this alley here."
Neighbors say the dogs are used to guard a lot which is used by a tow truck and limousine company.
A man who answered the phone at towing pros said the dogs are owned by the man who owns American DC Limo. He identified him only as Steve.
Just before 2 pm, two men police identified as owners Yasser Alzubaidy and Steve Ghareeb, arrived at the lot where they were issued two citations for having unleashed dogs.
The men left without answering questions.
Although neighbors say they have complained about the dogs in the lot, D.C. Police say they have no complaints on record.
"I have been the commander in the Sixth District for five years now and I have not received any complaints, it's not to say there have not been some instances but I have not received any complaints about dogs from this establishment," said Commander Robert Contee.
Commander Contee says the dog owners are not facing any criminal charges but the investigation still has a ways to go.
A spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Health says the two Cane Corsos are now at a Northeast animal shelter where they are being evaluated.
They could be euthanized or given back to their owners under a number of different scenarios.
The owners have a right to a hearing but if they abandon the dogs they will be put down.
