'All I saw was a face full of teeth'

Frank Hilinski was reading a magazine, watching TV and relaxing in the cool summer air early Sunday when one of his two cats suddenly fled from the living room.

At the same time, Hilinski heard a noise at the front door of his Lodi home. He grabbed the revolver he keeps in his house for protection.

"The first thought that came to my mind was a home invasion," the 74-year-old retired electrician said Monday.

Then a pit bull came barreling through Hilinski's living room, chasing his other cat, named Hungry. Within seconds Hungry had been mauled, Hilinski had been bitten and he had shot the dog.

The dog died outside. Hilinski had eight stitches in his finger. His elderly cat lived for more than a day before a veterinarian decided Monday afternoon that the gray feline had suffered too many injuries and would not recover.

Police said Monday that Hilinski is not facing any charges related to the incident; he owned the gun and had fired to protect himself.

A day after the incident, Hilinski was still trying to grasp what had happened. He had made a couple trips to the vet and hadn't yet found time to clean up all of the blood from the dog, the cat and himself.

Around 1:10 a.m. Sunday, Hilinski was sitting in his green armchair.

His front and screen doors were open to let in as much summer breeze as possible. That also made things easier for Hungry, who is about 17 years old — elderly in cat years. Hungry liked to lay on the cool cement front step, and the open door made it easier for him to come inside, Hilinski said.

The commotion came quickly. Hungry tried to escape from the dog by going into the home, but that meant that the pit bull followed. Hilinski grabbed his .45-caliber handgun and then realized that the home invader was a dog that was "trying to tear the cat apart."

Hilinski tried to pull the dog off the cat, but that did nothing.

"Any normal dog, it might have had some effect. Not this dog," Hilinski said.

So he began hitting the dog with the gun.

"He turned around and all I saw was a face full of teeth," Hilinski said.

Those teeth were about a foot away from the man's face when he fired one shot. The dog stopped its attack and retreated out the front door.

Hungry wasn't moving, and Hilinski thought the cat was dead.

He walked down a short hallway to the telephone and soon had a police dispatcher on the phone. Only later would he realize that he had dripped blood along the way.

Hilinski returned to the living room and saw the blood-covered Hungry trying to stand up. He grabbed a towel, hoping he could stop the cat's bleeding.

Police arrived, followed by an ambulance. Hilinski started to decline medical attention be cause he wanted to get the cat to a veterinarian, but he was soon on the way to Lodi Memorial Hospital.

A doctor examined Hilinski's left ring finger and said that he had no tendon damage. Hilinski could see actually see his tendon through the punctured skin, and it took eight stitches to close the wound.

Meanwhile, police had taken Hungry to an emergency veterinarian in Stockton, since Hilinski is a widower and his children are grown and scattered across the country.

Hungry had a broken leg, broken ribs and puncture wounds, but Hilinski was able to pick him up later and take him to a Lodi veterinarian. The cat was still alive, but on Monday afternoon a doctor decided to euthanize him because of the severity of his injuries, combined with his age.

The cat had been a stray at one point before being adopted, then came to Hilinski when his owners moved a few months ago. He came with the name.

As for the black-and-white pit bull, Animal Control Officer Brena Schweitz didn't know how old the female dog was or whether she'd had recent rabies vaccinations

If animal control can't learn the dog's vaccination history, Hilinski might have to undergo precautionary rabies treatment, Schweitz said.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.

Reader Feedback

s & W 500 wrote on Aug 28, 2008 3:10 PM:

" Oh Bull: It was intended for parents who are not responsible, and instill the same values in their offspring. "

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