Neighbors report the javelina has charged at several people walking near Dysart and Bethany Home Roads.
LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. — A javelina is on the loose in a West Valley neighborhood.
The wild animal reportedly attacked a man walking his dogs and charged at several other people.
“I would say it probably took less than 30 seconds for the whole thing,” Roy Watts said.
Watts told 12News he walks his dogs, Roxanne and Georgie, every morning around 4 a.m. in his neighborhood near Dysart and Bethany Home roads.
The neighborhood is home to some wildlife, such as coyotes, but a javelina sighting is rare.
“I usually scan the road with my flashlight just to see if there’s anything in the road, which a lot of times there is,” Watts said.
Last Thursday morning, there wasn’t anything on the road, but rather something hiding in the bushes.
“I just kept walking and then the dogs started to growl and they started to pull and pull and pull and pull, and then this thing charged from behind the bushes and they got into a bit of a battle right on the edge of the road,” Watts said.
Watts said he was able to break his dogs free, but the javelina charged at them a second time while they were attempting to get home.
“It was on the other side of the road, and we were running through this field right her,e and it just kept chasing us across the field,” Watts said.
The javelina bit one of the dogs and left a gash in Roxanne’s chest.
“It was probably over an inch deep,” Watts said.
Watts also hurt his knees when he got knocked over.
“Swelled up like a football and I was on crutches up until today, which was like three and a half days,” Watts said.
According to Arizona Game and Fish, dogs are a natural predator of javelina and the wild animals may become aggressive when they hear or smell dogs. The agency encourages people to scare javelina off by making loud noises.
If someone sees a javelina while walking a dog, the agency suggests turning around and going in a different direction.
“I would say if they can spot it early enough, just avoid, try to avoid it as much as possible,” Watts said.
Watts is thankful their dogs weren’t more seriously hurt, and he’d like to see the javelina relocated before another attack happens.
12News reached out to Arizona Game and Fish for comment on Sunday but did not immediately get a response.
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