Retired police officer mulled by dog www.privateofficer.com

Minneapolis MN Oct 31 2009 Amy Klinefelter was sitting down to a night on the computer and some TV Sunday evening when thumps emanating from her basement caught her off guard. Her roommate, Jim Stewart, was downstairs with his American bulldog, watching TV as usual.

When Klinefelter went to investigate, she found the 120-pound dog, Igor, standing over a bloodied, barely conscious Stewart, 53. The retired police officer was lying on his side, the skin of his face torn off and one eyelid ripped apart. An ear had been severed.

“His face was just, I just, I mean, just gone,” Klinefelter said Friday. “Just blood everywhere.”

Igor stood there looking back at Klinefelter, seemingly in shock himself, she said. He didn’t react aggressively when she grabbed his harness and dragged him down the hall and into the garage, where she locked him up. In fact, Klinefelter said, the dog hadn’t shown any aggression or warning signs in the five months it had lived with them and Klinefelter’s cat and yellow lab, Ali.

Klinefelter called 911 and Stewart was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he is listed in good condition.

Stewart adopted 2-year-old Igor this June after his 8-year-old American bulldog, Reggie, died of cancer in May. Igor came via an American bulldog rescue group that picked him up in Texas and placed him in a foster home in the Twin Cities. Klinefelter said she doesn’t remember the group’s name, although she remembers it being legitimate and thorough, running a background check on Stewart and visiting Klinefelter’s Woodbury townhouse to ensure that Igor was going to a good home.

“[Stewart] was so happy,” she said. “He loves Igor. He was always with him, always talking to him, walking him.”

Igor wrestled and slept with Klinefelter’s dog, Ali. He didn’t come with any special warnings or behavioral issues, Klinefelter said, adding that she is not familiar with his history