The distraught parents of a young man who had his face mauled by a pit bull as he collected charity donations in front of an Eagle Rock sandwich shop are hoping to identify the dog’s owner or owners, who left the scene.
The victim — identified by his parents as 20-year-old Ian Alli — was bitten about 7 p.m. Thursday in front of Jersey Mike’s Subs, 2601 Colorado Blvd., police said.
Alli suffered severe injuries to his cheek, nose, lips and left eye, and was to undergo plastic surgery Friday.
Police said a man who had given Alli a donation earlier Thursday night returned later walking the dog, but Alli’s parents said they were told two females had been walking the pit bull and encouraged his son to pet the animal.
When Alli crouched low to pet the dog, it lunged at his face, Alli’s father Brian said.
“Missed his eye by maybe a centimeter,” he told CBS2.
Alli was assisted by a woman at the scene and was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
The owner or owners ran off, police said.
Images of the owner or owners may have been recorded on Jersey Mike’s security system.
“Seeing him yesterday when I got here, like, I don’t know how the owner could have left not even knowing if he was OK,” Alli’s mother, Julie, told Channel 2. “I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. Ian’s a 20-year-old kid — if this had been a 2-year-old … ”
Brian Alli asked anyone with information to come forward.
“Anybody with a kid can imagine what we’re going through, and we need this, we need this solved,” he said.
Police say they are not seeking any information about the attack, calling it a potential civil matter, and referred questions to Los Angeles Animal Services, where no one was immediately available to comment.
The administrative office of Animal Services can be reached at (213) 482- 9558 and Animal Services’ North Central District office can be reached at (213) 847-2440.
