A Coventry family is turning to the community for help after an off-leash dog attacked their dog Oreo so severely during a walk that he later had to be euthanized. Henry Brown, who was walking Oreo along the same afternoon route he takes every day, says he still doesn't know the name of the man whose dog did it, and that man has not come forward.
Brown told WJAR that he and Oreo had stopped near a group of bushes during their walk last Sunday when a man approached from the opposite direction with a dog Brown described as looking like a pit bull. That dog was off its leash, and it attacked Oreo. According to Brown, the man grabbed his own dog and walked away without trying to stop the attack or check on Oreo.
Oreo suffered serious injuries, and Brown rushed him to a veterinary emergency hospital. Per Brown, staff there told the family that the damage was too severe to treat and that Oreo would need to be euthanized. “I loved him dearly,” Brown said, describing the bond he'd built with his dog before the attack cut it short.
Family Faces Thousands in Vet Bills, Launches Fundraiser
The ordeal has left the family with more than $3,000 in veterinary costs, prompting them to start a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the expenses. Brown's niece, Kristen, said the family needs more than financial help — they want accountability. “We need justice for Oreo,” she said, according to the station's report.
Finding the identity of the man and his dog has become the family's top priority, not just to recover costs but to hold him responsible for what happened. Coventry police are investigating the attack and are asking anyone with information about the man or his dog to come forward. The man and his dog remain unidentified as of now.
Where to Report Information Locally
Residents with tips can also reach out to Coventry Animal Control, which operates out of a building behind Town Hall at 1670 Flat River Road. The department can be reached at 822-9106, and any emergencies involving animals can be reported directly to the Coventry Police Department at 826-1100.
Part of a Pattern of Off-Leash Attacks
Oreo's death adds to a string of recent incidents around the region involving dogs that got loose or were let off leash. In July, Essex, Vermont police investigated a fatal attack on a walking trail at Overlook Park, where a brown pit bull running off leash attacked another dog around 3:30 p.m., according to mynbc5.com. That dog was taken to a local animal hospital but later died from its injuries.
Closer to home, Portsmouth residents raised alarms after three dogs escaped a backyard enclosure on a Saturday morning and attacked another dog that was being walked on a leash near the corner of Dorothy and Leander streets. WJAR reported that the attacked dog was left in critical condition at Ocean State emergency pet hospital, and the leashed dog's owner suffered hand injuries trying to intervene. Police said the three dogs involved, which neighbors identified as cane corsos, would be confined for 10 days, and neighbors alleged the animals had been involved in previous attacks as well.
Rhode Island law addresses unleashed and vicious dogs under a statute titled “Ordinances concerning unrestricted and vicious dogs prohibited — Leash laws,” identified in state records as R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-13-15.1, while a separate provision, § 4-13-16, covers legal action for damages to animals. How those statutes might apply to the Coventry case has not been established.
For now, the Coventry family is left grieving Oreo and hoping someone recognizes the man and his dog from that Sunday walk. Anyone with information is urged to contact Coventry police as the investigation continues.
