22-year-old Alexandra Ross has always been incredibly passionate about dogs – even aggressive ones, like the three-year-old pit bull Aries, whom she adopted from a local shelter.
Back in September, Ross met Aries at the shelter. He had open wounds all over his body from where he’d bitten himself, his hair was in patches, he was suffering from fleas, and his pupils were constantly dilated.
But all the same, Ross fell in love with the way he looked at her, so she took him home, hoping he could become a good companion for her own dog, a two-year-old Doberman called Atlas.
Over the next few months, Ross nursed Aries back to health by feeding him all his favorite foods and taking him on constant walks.
Despite her best efforts though, Aries and Atlas never ended up getting along; their personalities were too dominant and the dogs often created tension by bumping into each other in Ross’ home.
By December, Ross knew Aries had to go to another home. “I wanted to keep him and it was a hard decision, but he needed someone who would give him one on one attention,” she explained.
After a short period of searching for a potential owner – who had no kids or other dogs – Ross found a potential: a 20-year-old woman who only owned a cat.
When Ross and Aries’ prospective owner met up though, the unthinkable happened.
Aries lashed out at the other woman’s cat, catching the animal’s entire body in his jaws. Both women screamed, and Ross lunged at the pit bull, trying to pry its jaws apart.
But it was too late.
Aries crushed the cat, killing it, and his teeth ripped through Ross’ flesh and bone until it was hanging by just a bit of skin.
“I was hysterical. I was crying, and screaming, ‘My finger is gone,’” she recalled. “Surprisingly, it didn't hurt at first, because of the adrenalin, but I could hear him biting through the bone. It sounded like crunching and I knew it was bad, everything happened so fast - it burned for a split second, but I couldn't feel it after that because I was in shock.”
Ross was driven to the hospital by the prospective owner – and police were called to destroy Aries.
Although Ross underwent a 15-minute surgery to reattach her finger, vomited for the four days following the surgery, and took antibiotics to ensure she hadn’t contracted rabies, she cried profusely when she heard that Aries had to be put down.
“It still aches but the worst part was that the dog didn't deserve to be put down,” she said. “My outlook is if they are safe to humans they are safe to be placed and I still believe Aries was safe.”
