FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A walk along Las Olas Boulevard last month turned into a nightmare for a woman when a pit bull attacked her 4-year-old Malti-poo, Gracie — an encounter that ended with both dogs being euthanized and raised questions about shelter adoption practices.
“This pit bull came out of nowhere and within just a split second I had trying to get her off the ground and away from this dog, and was not able to get her out of harm’s way,” pet owner Lisa Zender recalled.
According to a Broward County Animal Care report, Roy Bissember was sitting on a bench with his dog Lucy when the dog lunged at Gracie and began shaking her.
The Fort Lauderdale Police Department confirmed that “it took several bystanders jumping in to ultimately save Gracie.”
“This dog clamped down on her, on her back legs and started violently shaking her,” Zender said.
Gracie suffered a major leg injury and a large open gash during the attack.
Zender says she spent nearly $8,000 trying to save her pet, but ultimately made the painful decision to euthanize her.
“The dog had literally ripped her back leg out of its socket, and that the leg would have to be amputated,” she said. “I loved her too much, I had to let her go, so we put her down. I actually apologized to her because I didn’t get her off the ground quick enough.”
After the attack, Zender said she learned the attacking dog had a history of aggression.
“I was angry when I saw the report, horribly angry,” she said.
Broward County Animal Care records show the tan pit bull had been returned to the shelter by a foster in January due to “biting and fighting loose dogs.”
She said the dog had also bitten a human in Palm Beach County, where the foster lived at the time.
Shelter paperwork indicated the dog “was not nice with other animals” and had issues walking on a leash when she saw other dogs or cats.
Despite that, she was adopted out to Bissember on April 16 — just one day before the reported attack on Las Olas.
BCAC officials say Bissember was aware of the dog’s history and provided an address, but shelter staff later discovered that he was homeless.
In response to questions about their adoption policies, Broward County Animal Care said in a statement:
“We do not discriminate — we take it as a case-by-case basis.” The agency says it offers food and veterinary resources to those without homes who adopt animals.
Zender said she believes the shelter made a critical mistake.
“I think Broward County Animal totally dropped the ball and taking this dog back in, knowing its history, ‘hey let’s put it back out on the streets, not only put it back out on the streets but let’s put it back on the streets to a homeless person,’ who can’t even take care of themselves much yet a dog,” she said.
“Now I have to try to pick up the pieces and go on, it’s not fair,” Zender added.
On the day of the attack, Bissember surrendered the dog back to the shelter, where the dog was euthanized.
Shelter officials told Local 10 they do not keep data on how many animals are adopted out to people experiencing homelessness.
“It just hurts, my heart is so broken,” Zender said.
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