'They Are Going To Kill Him': Puyallup UPS Driver Mauled By Dogs

PUYALLUP, WA - The woman stood nearby watching as the pit bull tore into UPS driver Kevin Backlund's leg. Backlund moments earlier had entered this property along 116th Street East in an unincorporated area south of Puyallup to deliver a package. After he entered the property, he was set upon by four pit bulls who tore at Backlund's arms and legs, inflicting injuries that a witness would later say looked like something out of a war.

Backlund, 59, a former Nevada state police officer trained in martial arts, tried to fend off the dogs with his belt. After seeking refuge on top of a trailer, he called 911 telling the dispatcher one of the dogs had severed a vein and he was bleeding profusely.

That dispatcher sent the call to Pierce County deputies and Orting Valley Fire and Rescue. Orting Battalion Chief Steve Goodwin was the first to arrive on the scene. What Goodwin saw was as bizarre as it was violent: that woman just watching a pit bull tear Backlund apart.

"I asked her if they were her dogs and she said, 'yes.'" Goodwin recalled in a report he wrote about the incident. "I told her to get the dogs under control and she said, 'The driver was trespassing and kicked one of my dogs.'"

"They are going to kill him," the woman said to Goodwin.

Who Owns The Dogs?

In the wake of the Sept. 13 mauling, there are still many unanswered questions about what happened that day. Backlund intends to sue the dog owners, but the property where the attack happened appears to be inhabited by a shifting group of people, and none have really stepped up to claim ownership of the dogs.

The property itself, according to Pierce County records, is owned by a man named Jason Owens. But in multiple visits to the property, police have only been in touch with a man named Darryl Burgess, a registered sex offender who claims to live at the property. In police reports of visits after the incident, officers have tried calling Owens, but it seems they never reached him.

County property records indicate there are no buildings on the property, although there are sheds, RVs, and other vehicle parts stored there. There are also several businesses that list the property as an address. One of those companies, R C O Ent Inc., is, ironically, some type of freight shipping business.

Immediately after the attack, the four pit bulls, including the "pack leader" Loranitis, were taken to the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County for quarantine.

On Sept. 22, Pierce County animal control officer Patrick Cassin declared the dogs dangerous and got a warrant to keep the dogs locked up at the kennel. Cassin made that determination based on a number of factors, one was that neither Burgess nor Owens took any steps to protect strangers from the dogs. The front gate was secured with what officers described as a flimsy black ribbon, police said.

After the mauling of Backlund, police asked Burgess whether anyone had posted a sign about the dangerous dogs. Burgess said there was a yellow sign, but that it was missing. On that Sept. 22 return visit, Cassin saw that someone had found that sign and placed it near the bottom of the fence.

The sign said: "Psycho Dog Zone."

Goodwin Rescues Backlund

Goodwin, according to his report, wasn't going to wait for the woman to control the dogs. He ordered her to open the gate so he could get to Backlund .

She told him, "F--k you."

By that time, a second dog was on Backlund's leg, and Goodwin knew there was no time to waste. He rammed his officer car through the fence and was able to position the passenger side so that Backlund could jump in.

"[Backlund] was able to kick the last dog off as he came in through the open window," Goodwin wrote.

But that woman - who still hasn't been positively identified - wasn't through. She screamed at the pair as they backed out of the driveway and threatened to shoot them.

"You are a f--king idiot. Now the dogs are going to get out," she screamed, Goodwin reported. "I'm going to get my gun and shoot you."

Backlund was taken to Good Samaritan hospital and treated for his serious wounds.

Legal Battle Coming

It's been three weeks since the attack and Backlund is back at home, but he's far from healed. He got over 130 stitches for bites all up and down his arms and legs. He has to go to a wound care doctor every other day to have the bites cleaned and dressed. The cuts are beginning to scab over, making it hard for him to move. Eventually he'll have to do physical therapy.

Backlund has declined to speak to the media, but is supposed to appear at a Nov. 2 appeal hearing of the dangerous dog order. He's being represented by the Davis Law Group in Seattle. No lawsuit has been filed yet.

Through the law firm, Backlund on Thursday issued a statement praising the people who saved his life.

“On behalf of myself and my family, we want to express our deepest gratitude to Orting Valley Fire Department Chief Steve Goodwin for his immediate assessment and courageous actions that we believe saved my life," Backlund said in a statement issued through his lawyer. "The two Orting Valley Fire Department Paramedics that stabilized me in the medic car en-route to Puyallup Good Samaritan Hospital. To Dr. Gates and his surgical team for the outstanding care that I received. Lastly, but not least, we are grateful for the outpouring of support and prayer from our church family and the entire faith community.”

Images courtesy Davis Law Firm