Pit Bull Viciously Attacks Man, Bites Off His Ear At Florida Home

A man in Florida lost his ear and suffered several injuries on his arms and legs in a dog attack.

Nicholas Paone was attacked by his girlfriend's pit bull Friday. Volusia County deputies said the 38-year-old victim was at a Katrina Street home in DeLeon Springs when the incident took place.

Julie Thompson, Paone's girlfriend, tapped him on his arm to wake him up for work. At that moment, the pit bull bit Paone.

Thompson tried to get the dog away but the animal overpowered her and attacked Paone, injuring his arms and legs and “ultimately biting off Nicholas’s (Paone's) left ear,” deputies wrote in their report.

After the attack, Thompson called paramedics, who found Paone dazed, confused and “startled due to not knowing what was going on, however paramedics were able to calm Nicholas (Paone) down,” the deputies said, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

The victim was airlifted by a sheriff’s helicopter to Halifax Health Medical Center.

Thompson said the dog had never displayed "this type of behavior before or ever bitten Nicholas (Paone)," investigating deputies mentioned. The dog was taken away by Volusia County Animal Control and placed in a 10-day quarantine at Halifax Humane Society.

Authorities said the case is being investigated as this was an attack that was unprovoked.

Media reports show a total of 87 humans in the U.S. and Canada have been attacked by pit bulls, which make up only 6% of the dog population, according to CityWatch.

In September, a wheelchair-bound elderly woman was killed by her rescue dog at her home in Margate, Florida. The woman, identified as 84-year-old Carolyn Varaneseas, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her 57-year-old son, Joseph Varanese, was also attacked by the canine. He was rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries. Police said the mother-son duo was bitten multiple times by the canine. The rescue dog was believed to be an American Boxer mix.

The Broward County Animal Care and Adoption Center took the canine into custody amid ongoing investigation.