Shirley Pasamanick, a 70-year-old Orlando resident, had to go to extreme lengths when a pitbull attacked her dog out of nowhere. The incident unfolded on Monday, September 1, when the woman was leaving the Plaza Tropical Supermarket in Orlando, Florida. She has since taken to Facebook to describe how it all went down, lamenting, “It [the pitbull] just out of nowhere bolted at us.”
According to WESH 2, WLBT, Pasamanick was leaving the supermarket area with her 14-year-old dog, Sparky, when the pitbull suddenly attacked them. “And I did everything I could. We ended up on the ground,” the woman told the outlet. The footage of the incident obtained by WESH 2 shows that when the pitbull attacked Sparky, the woman tried to fight off the canine with a cane. However, all her efforts went to vain, as it continued to attack her pet dog.
Pasamanick, despite being an old and weak woman, did not give up so easily. When she couldn’t stop the pitbull in other ways, she decided to bite its neck. A bold move that ultimately made the dog retreat from the ambush. She told WESH 2, “I couldn’t open his mouth. So I bit him. I had to!”
Shirley then lamented how helpless she felt at that moment, “I’m 91 pounds! I have no strength!” She also told the outlet that she felt very disappointed at that time, as no one came to help her and her pet during the pitbull attack. “[They] just stood there. And people are going to see it now that you’re cowardly,” the Florida resident said.
In her Facebook post, Shirley Pasamanick emphasized that everyone should circulate the video of the brutal attack to raise awareness. “Dog came out of nowhere. I’m shaking every time I see it!” she penned in the comment section of her post.
70-year-old Florida woman bites pit bull to save her dog during attack
Full Story: https://t.co/MRpKNfoNoN pic.twitter.com/96br4ReAp1
— WAVE (@wave3news) September 10, 2025
The CCTV footage also shows a man coming to take the pitbull away on a leash. He is believed to be its owner, and the authorities are still trying to identify the man, as reported by WESH 2. However, according to Pasamanick’s statement to WLBT, the supposed owner did not help at all. “Grabbed his leash, walked away, didn’t check on us to see how we were,” she recounted.
The elderly woman has since been left with bite marks and bruises on her leg. Her pet dog, Sparky, also had some bites from the pitbull. She said, “Something has to be done. I was shaking for days after this happened.” Pasamanick stressed that the raging pitbull should “be put down.”
Following the attack, the woman has been finding strength through her pet dog. “You gotta take care of your dog,” she said, noting that Sparky is the “reason some days she gets up,” after the incident.
