Palm Beach officer helps woman after a dog bite takes a chunk of her skin while protecting her dog
By: A Miami woman is in the hospital after she was attacked by a pit bull while walking her Yorkie in a shopping center parking lot in West Palm Beach.
West Palm Beach Police said they responded to multiple 911 calls reporting the attack at 2100 45th St., at around 5 p.m., Monday.
“There’s a dog trying to bite another dog, and the lady’s still bleeding. Oh, my God,” said a caller.
The first officer on the scene reportedly found 35-year-old Liliana Marbles clutching her severely injured Yorkie, suffering from bite wounds to both arms.
Investigators said the officer provided immediate aid to Marbles and secured her dog in the back of his patrol car.
Marbles told police that as she walked with her 1-and-a-half year-old dog, Pochita, to a nearby 7-Eleven, a pit bull charged toward them.
“And I hear a scream, ‘Hold your dog,’ turn around, and I see a beast coming,” said Marbles.
In an attempt to protect Pochita, Marbles was knocked to the ground and bitten.
“So they bite me instead of her!” Marbles is heard saying on police bodycam video. “He was playing with me like I’m a piece of toy.”
A bystander intervened, kicking the pit bull to halt the attack, and called 911.
Police bodycam video shows officers arriving and rendering aid to Marbles.
“Make sure she’s not bleeding! Make sure she’s not bleeding!” an officer said.
“Can you lift your arm up a little bit?” an officer asked the victim.
The Yorkie ended up OK thanks to her owner taking the attack herself.
“It came at a moment that I saw the dog with a piece of meat, which was my arm,” said Marbles.
Racing against time, Marbles wrapped her arms with tourniquets, as she desperately tried to stop the bleeding.
“It’s going to hurt a little bit, OK? But I have to do this to stop the bleeding. Take some deep breaths for me,” said the officer.
According to police, the owner of the pit bull left the scene with her dog but was apprehended by police nearby.
The pit bull’s owner reportedly claimed her dog’s leash slipped from her hand, while Marbles alleged the leash was not attached to the dog’s collar during the attack.
Marbles was transported to St. Mary’s Medical Center where she underwent surgery for her injuries. She left the hospital on Thursday.
Marbles said she hopes dog owners take responsibility for their pets seriously.
“Make sure that you don’t get the responsibility of a dog like that if you cannot control it. Because the fact that the leash slipped off your hands, it’s a terrible mistake because I could’ve been dead,” said Marbles.
Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control impounded the pit bull for a 10-day quarantine as part of their investigation.
When asked whether or not the owner of the pit bull will be charged or cited, police said it was an “ongoing investigation.”