By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
Jeannette Metellus, of Queens Village, was approached by the pit bull, which began sniffing her when she tried to push him away with her purse, according to her grandson.”The dog came out of nowhere and started sniffing her,” said 10-year-old Allan Charles, who said he witnessed the attack. “They started barking at me, so I ran inside to get my aunt.”Charles said after his grandmother tried to push the dog away, it attacked her. The dog was biting her on the arms when two neighbors heard the commotion and ran to help. “Two men came, one with a shovel and one with a bat,” said Charles. “The man hit the dog with a shovel until he let go.” Metellus, who speaks only Creole, said she was “OK” during a brief phone interview Tuesday.Charles said he did not quite know how he felt during the attack, only that he would like to have done more. “I wish I had something to hit the dog with,” said Charles. “I was kind of scared.”Police said the dog was captured and handed over to the Animal Protection Services, which typically holds a dog for two weeks before putting down the animal.In 2000, three people were attacked by three pit bulls in a Bayside driveway as they walked next to the yard where the dogs lived. A resident and two government workers inspecting trees for the Asian Longhorned Beetle were attacked by the pit bulls, which at the time lived on 43rd Avenue. One of the government workers sustained serious injuries that left him hospitalized for a month.Reach reporter Peter A. Sutters Jr. by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 ext. 173.
