KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A family of three has been ripped apart after a violent encounter with a neighbor’s dog.
Jonathan Castillo and his wife Jennifer are overcome by grief. Their dog Tyler, a small schnauzer mix, died at an animal clinic Sunday days after being attacked.
“My world was flipped upside down like literally he was my everything and I miss him every second,” Jonathan Castillo said.
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On July 3, Castillo took Tyler on a routine morning walk around the neighborhood — except this time, they traveled down a different block.
They walked by one house with a front door that was wide open. Castillo said that suddenly, a pit bull charged out of the house and toward them.
“I’ve never seen a dog do that so unprovoked,” Castillo said.
He recalled the pit bull latching onto Tyler and refusing to let go. Castillo eventually broke the pit bull’s grip while pulling him off of Tyler. Then, he grew very angry with its owners.
“Are you [expletive] kidding me? That could’ve been a [expletive] kid,” Castillo said.
Castillo and his wife took Tyler to the animal clinic immediately after calling Osceola County Animal Services to report the incident.
The trio was able to go home early the next morning, but days later, Tyler was not feeling back to normal.
His owners said he would barely eat or take his antibiotics, and a few days later, he was taken back to the clinic. That’s when the couple learned he would need surgery.
Tyler’s heart stopped beating that day.
“That’s when they called us like, ‘We’ve been doing CPR for 20 minutes trying to revive him,’ and we were just hysterical. We were like, ‘Just let him go,’” Castillo said. “I didn’t want to, but we have to let him go.”
To the couple, Tyler was their child, and he had other roles. He was Castillo’s service dog, but he was also considered his coworker, best friend and sometimes, a security dog.
“I just want justice for Tyler,” Castillo said.
Now, the Castillos want the pit bull out of their community.
They started a petition with more than 60 signatures and will bring it before the HOA board in hopes they will have the dog removed.
In a report, Osceola County Animal Services said they educated the owner of the pit bull, but they cannot do a dangerous dog investigation because this is the dog’s first offense.
News 6′s Treasure Roberts spoke with the pit bull’s owner and family; they did not wish to go on camera.
The owner said the pit bull was rescued from people who used him as a fighting dog.
He said that sometimes, the pit bull has conflicts with other dogs.
The owner said his grandmother forgot to close the door of the house, and that’s when the pit bull ran outside.
The family said they were sorry, and they added they took care of Tyler’s medical expenses.
That’s not enough for the Castillos.
“It literally destroyed our family,” Jonathan Castillo said.
Tyler’s family is still keeping his memory alive.
They’re keeping all of his toys and clothes, and refraining from cleaning up dog hair on their furniture.
“It’s a piece of him that we’ll never get back,” Jennifer Castillo said.
They were also gifted a Dogwood plant that stands tall in their living room.
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