Victim in Pit Bull Mauling Recounts Terrifying Ordeal

Milford Fonza, 67, had been through the Vietnam War. As a retired fire chief with the Compton Fire Department, he was trained to rescue people in life-threatening situations.

But nothing he had ever experienced was as terrifying as the attack he suffered at  the jaws of two pit bulls early Monday morning.

Fonza, a 35-year resident of Glendora, had been out walking during his usual morning stroll in his neighborhood near Willow Elementary School. Every morning at 4:30 a.m. he would walk three miles with a walking stick in hand.

But that morning, two aggressive pit bulls he never seen before attacked. He tried to strike the animals with his wooden walking stick, but it snapped in two.

“It was the most terrifying of any situation I had ever been in,” said Fonza.  “I was close to death. I knew it.”

The dogs tore into his shoulder and his left hand suffered deep gashes as he tried to fend the dogs off. The pain was unbearable.

As the mauling continued, Fonza managed to get to his feet and tried to jump over a wall to safety. But he couldn’t move. His shoulder was broken.

What seemed like an eternity, Fonza managed to break free and run to the street, hoping to flag down help.

In what Fonza considers a true stroke of luck, one of the first cars to pass by was a police officer.

Officer Matt Fenner just happened to be on a routine patrol when he spotted Fonza and the two dogs. Officer Fenner managed to strike one of the attacking pit bulls with his vehicle, mortally wounding the animal.

The other pit bull continued with the attack, this time bounding toward Fenner. The officer opened fire and instantly killed the animal.

Fonza, who suffered six dog bites and a broken shoulder in the attack, credits Fenner with saving his life.

“I’m so grateful to him,” said Fonza from his home where he is recovering. Still in pain and heavily medicated with pain medication, Fonza knows his injuries would have been far more severe had help not arrived when it did. “I was lucky that Officer Fenner was at the right place at the right time,” he said.

Fonza said he has no idea where the dogs came from or who their owner is. As a former owner of a pitt bull, Fonza cautions against owning one.

“I know by nature, they are very bullheaded and aggressive animals,” said Fonza.  “Unless the owner can be responsible and spend a lot of money in training these animals, they should not be taken in as pets.”

Fonza said as soon as he recovers, he will continue to go on his early-morning walks.

This time, he’s taking an aluminum baseball bat with him.