Pit bull owner plans to fight for dogs

Despite what happened to her friend, the owner of two pit bulls accused of attacking a man last week said she will fight to keep the dogs alive. Sherry Gerdie also said the dogs were provoked into attacking her friend.

"I'm really sorry for what happened to Greg," Gerdie said of her friend who was attacked, "but I'm gonna fight for my dogs."

Police reports stated the pit bulls attacked Gregario Rios, 54, last week when he went to Gerdie's apartment in the 800 block of 12th Avenue to feed them.

But Gerdie said the dogs had been without food and had not been allowed outside to go to the bathroom for about 12 hours.

"They got excited when Greg came to let them out," Gerdie said. "Tach (the male) started jumping around out of control and Greg hit him in the face. That's when Tach attacked."

While Gerdie claims Rios hit her dog, Rios, who was recently released from the Intensive Care Unit at North Colorado Medical Center, refused to talk about the incident. Witnesses said one of his ears was almost bitten off, and he has numerous cuts on his face and head.

Gerdie said the other dog, Budha -- a female and Gerdie's favorite -- did not bite Rios, except to pull on his pant leg to get him away from Tach. "Budha was cowering in the corner when people came to help Greg." Gerdie was not at home at the time of the attack, but said she has witnesses to the incident.

While she admits the male dog, Tach, can be difficult to control at times, Budha is her friendly dog. "She even saved me once when a man was going to attack me in my apartment," Gerdie said. "Budha growled at him and he took off."

Gerdie hasn't been allowed to see her dogs at the Humane Society shelter where they're being kept in quarantine.

She will appear before a city hearing officer on Friday to argue for her dogs. According to Assistant City Attorney Mark Gonzales, the Friday hearing will be used to determine if the dogs are vicious. If they are, the dogs will be returned to the Humane Society for a mandatory 30 days, during which time Gerdie will have to pay $25 per dog per day for their care. If Gerdie can't pay the $1,500 for the 30 days, the dogs will become property of the city.

"When that happens, we ask the Humane Society to determine if the dogs are adoptable," Gonzales said. "If they aren't, then we'll have to find a solution with what will happen to them."

At that point, the city could order that the dogs be destroyed.

Gerdie said she will be at City Hall Friday to argue for her dogs, but especially for Budha. "I raised her since she was a puppy, and she's part of me now," Gerdie said. "Even if they put me in jail, I won't let them kill her."