by Dennis Dalman
The Landowski family members of Sartell are still mourning the terrible loss of their dog, “Timber,” after two neighborhood pit bulls attacked and killed it on July 26.
Timber was a tiny 13-year-old brown Teapot Yorkie and weighed only about two pounds, as most Teapot Yorkies do. The family’s mother obtained the precious pet years ago in Wisconsin.
“Rachel and Logen are still heartbroken about it,” said Curt Landowski, referring to his wife and his middle son. “That dog followed Logen around everywhere. And Timber was well known in this neighborhood. Many neighbors loved him like a baby.”
The Landowskis live along Sixth Avenue South in Sartell.
On July 26, son Logen, who had just returned home from golfing, greeted Timber and then decided to let the dog outside to go potty. Logen walked back in the house and moments later decided to let Timber back in. But when he opened the door, the dog was nowhere to be seen. Alarmed, Logen walked around, looking for Timber, calling his name.
At that same time, a State Highway Patrol officer, who lives in that neighborhood, was driving on his way home when, at the side of the road, two pit bulls were walking along, one of them carrying a small animal in its mouth that the officer thought might be a squirrel. He stopped his car and quickly realized it was a little dog. As he grabbed the dog from the pit bull’s mouth, he knew immediately whose dog it was. So he drove to the Landowski residence where he saw Logen walking around, obviously looking for the lost dog. The officer, holding the badly injured dog, brought it over to Logen. The dog’s eyes were open as he looked up at Logen as if to say goodbye.
“Is he OK?” Logen asked.
“No,” said the officer. “So sorry.”
Logen, stunned by shock, quickly drove Timber to a nearby veterinary clinic. But, alas, it was too late. Poor Timber had died.
“I keep thinking, what if that victim had been a neighborhood child?” wondered Curt Landowski.
He said there have been concerns and complaints to the police about those two pit bulls in that neighborhood because those dogs had been seen by some residents running loose before.
Rachel and Curt Landowski have three sons: Peyton, the oldest, living on his own now; Logen, who just finished college; and Keaton, who will be a senior at Sartell High School this year.
Curt is employed by Little Debbie Snack Cakes; Rachel is a licensed practical nurse at CentraCare.
Curt deeply misses Timber too.
“Just the other day I could swear I saw him coming around a corner in this house,” he said.
Curt decided to call the Newsleaders to share the tragic story about Timber’s fate so other news readers – parents, pet owners – could be alerted to the dangers of pit bulls.
Safety tips
According to pet websites researched online by the Newsleaders, not all pit bulls are aggressive by nature. It’s recommended owners of pit bulls take great pains to socialize them to ensure they become human-friendly and to keep them penned up securely outside of homes, never letting them wander around unaccompanied.
Pet owners in all neighborhoods should always keep their dogs and cats on a leash or within a fence (if possible) when they are outdoors. Never let dogs and cats run loose, unattended.
Those residents should also try to become aware if there are any pit bulls or other dogs known to be aggressive in the neighborhood and then learn to take precautions against potential attacks. Some recommend when walking a dog on a leash, the person accompanying the dog might want to carry a can of pepper spray as that has been known to fend off attacks by animals.
Timber, a Teapot Yorkshire terrier, was 13-years-old when he was killed in a pit-bull attack in a Sartell neighborhood. His human family are still very much in mourning for their precious pet.
