The 2-year-old male black and white dog jumped a thin wire fence behind 815 S. Seventh St. about 9:15 a.m. to reach the alley where the men were working, said James Burks, who saw the incident from his bathroom window.
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Coulee Region Humane Society officer Dan Olson, left, impounds a pit bull that attacked two men in the alley of the 800 block of South Seventh Street on Monday, as a La Crosse police officer and woman look on. Dick Riniker photo. |
“I heard screaming and saw the dog attacking two guys. The dog had them on the ground,” Burks said.
The dog first bit Dale Proksch, according to La Crosse police reports. The owner’s son, Samson Fair, pulled the dog off, but it turned and again went after Proksch. When Carmon Jostad tried to help his co-worker, the dog tore into the right side of his belly, police said.
“One guy had a big hole in his stomach,” Burks said.
Proksch, of Holmen, Wis., had injuries to his left hand and forearm, right bicep and right upper leg. He was in good condition Monday at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center.
Jostad, of Coon Valley, Wis., had the bite to his abdomen and scrapes on his right elbow and hand, according to police. He was treated at the hospital and released.
La Crosse County Health Department Vector Control Manager Dave Geske ordered the dog quarantined at the Coulee Region Humane Society for at least 10 days. It did have a current license and rabies vaccination.
Department officials will investigate the incident, Geske said, and likely seek an order from a circuit judge to have the dog euthanized if they conclude it jumped the fence and attacked unprovoked.
A court hearing with testimony from witnesses and the dog’s owner, Cathy Bolling, would be set before any ruling is made, he said.
Bolling, who lives at the Seventh Street address, would have the right to appeal the euthanasia order.
Bolling, 40, told police she had leashed the dog, called Big Boy, in the backyard. She was given a $159 citation for having a dog running at large and is scheduled to appear in La Crosse Municipal Court on Sept. 24.
A second dog that lives at the same house attacked a man in April, police said.
Anne Jungen can be reached at (608) 791-8224 or ajungen@lacrossetribune.com.



eggnoglover37 wrote on Jan 30, 2009 2:20 PM: