by Rick Pezzullo
A frightening encounter with a pair of pit bulls that left her dog with multiple injuries has prompted a Cortlandt woman to try to ensure the safety of her neighborhood.

"It's very scary. These dogs were out to kill," said Lori Miranda.

Miranda had taken her 12-year-old, 34-pound springer spaniel, named Riley, outside her townhouse at Cross Creek about 2 a.m. Saturday to go to the bathroom when she heard rustling in the woods, which she thought were deer.

All of a sudden, two pit bulls charged at Riley, ripping a donut-size hole in her neck and puncture wounds in her spine.

"I thought they killed her. She went limp in front of me," Miranda explained. "I couldn't do anything. It was horrifying."

After hearing her screams, a neighbor came out with a golf club and flashlight to try to help.

"We looked out the window to see what was going on and Scott saw her dog lying on the sidewalk. He thought the dog was dead," Judy Ciccone, Miranda's neighbor, said of what she and her husband witnessed.

"Scott went outside with a flashlight and all of a sudden a shadow passed in front of a light and the pit bulls came up about 20 feet in front of him," she said. "He just stood his ground. It was really scary."

The pit bulls ran back into the woods after it began to rain heavily, and Miranda had to run to an emergency veterinarian in White Plains.

The dog is now in an animal hospital in Katonah-Bedford after undergoing several surgeries and is expected to return to her home off Oregon Road this week.

"It looks like she's going to survive," Miranda said. "I can't imagine if the dog got a hold of a kid."

According to pitbulllovers.com, pit bulls are more submissive toward people, especially children, but historically have been bred to take down large animals.

With many young children in the complex and a daycare center across the street, Miranda is concerned about the pit bulls returning, although it appears they do not live in the neighborhood.

"We do occasionally walk around the block and I have never seen anyone with pit bulls," Ciccone said. "We never had a situation like this before."

Miranda, who is facing about $5,000 in medical bills for Riley, said she didn't receive any cooperation from the police and Cortlandt's part-time animal control officer told her there was nothing the town could do without knowing the owners of the dogs.

Taking matters into her own hands, Miranda has handed out fliers in her neighborhood and is considering offering a reward for information about the pit bulls.

"The neighborhood is very concerned," she said.