WILKES-BARRE - Bentley the Chihuahua didn't have a chance.

While playing at the Hollenback Dog Park in Wilkes-Barre  last week, the year-old pooch was fatally mauled by three mixed-breed huskies that invaded the small dog area of the park after being left unattended by their owner, Bentley's saddened guardian says.

"They just came running in. They attacked Bentley. At that point, Bentley was just squealing. I was trying to get Bentley away from them and I got bit multiple times. They were shaking him around. It was horrible," recalled Sara Frey, who suffered 17 bite wounds to her right hand while trying to stop the attack. "I never thought this could happen at a dog park. I thought we were safe within the gates. Obviously, we weren't."

Frey, 22, of Wilkes-Barre, said the big dogs' owner left them unattended Nov. 20 in a fenced in reception area and the dogs were able to unlatch a gate, storm inside the small dog area, and pounce on Bentley. After emergency surgery, Bentley died the next day.

Wilkes-Barre city's Animal Enforcement Officer Ed McDade said he now plans to cite the dog owner, David Cannon, with violating a city ordinance for allowing an animal to injure a human, a violation that carries a $100 fine.

Cannon, a frequent visitor to the park, was apologetic, accompanied Frey to the veterinarian's office and agreed to pay for Bentley's medical care, Frey said.

But he didn't follow the park's rules, officials say.

Rules posted at the entrance gates say owners must supervise their dogs at all times and are "legally responsible for the actions and behavior of their dogs."

Cannon, 46, of Plains Township, acknowledged Tuesday he left his dogs temporarily unsupervised in a gated area leading to the small dog section. His explanation: he volunteers at the dog park and was cleaning up dog poop in the large dog area.

"I'm not going to dispute it. There were witnesses. I volunteer at the dog park. I was cleaning up poop. No one wants to do it," Cannon said. "I never expected a dog could possibly open the latch."

"I feel really bad it happened," Cannon added. "I volunteered to pay for all the bills. It was $4,000. I already paid it. I'll gladly buy her a new dog. I want to do anything I could to make it up."

Despite the apologies, Frey is still upset. Before Cannon left his dogs in the holding area, she said he explained to her, "I have to put my dogs in here because they'll get in fights."

"It's his own fault for bringing them there in the first place. He admitted to me they were aggressive. And he shouldn't have left them unattended. So I really don't accept his apologies," Frey said.

The City of Wilkes-Barre owns the land used for the dog park near Hollenback Golf Course, but it was built and is managed by volunteers from the nonprofit Wyoming Valley Dog Owners Group, city officials say.

Marijo Carozzoni, a board member with the dog owners group, said the park hasn't had any such problems since opening three years ago.

"When we learned of the incident, we were all totally devastated. It was a horrific tragedy that I don't think anyone could have even conceived of," she said.

Because group volunteers can't be at the park all the time, park goers are often left to police themselves in following the park's rules, she said.

"We have the signs up with all the rules. We can't make the people follow the rules," she said.

The group plans to examine the fences and gates to prevent future incidents, Carozzoni said.

"We're getting in touch with the fence company to look at the latch system - something that might be more secure, or dog proof," she said.

bkalinowski@citizensvoice.com

570-821-2055, @cvbobkal