DETROIT (WXYZ) — As Harold Phillips continues to fight for his life after the father of six was mauled by three dogs Monday, the owner of the dogs admits they've bitten people before.
"To the Phillips family, I'm so sorry," Roy Goodman said. "Nothing I can do can make this right but if there's anything I can do, I will."
Goodman told 7 Action News that the dogs he and his wife own have been involved in three previous dog bite cases, including one involving a child.
"After the child situation, the one dog should have definitely been put down," Goodman told 7 Action News outside his house on Detroit's west side where the dogs got loose Monday night and attacked Phillips as he was walking from the bus stop on W. Chicago near Longacre.
Goodman said he noticed the dogs were loose and claims he had looked for them. He said he came back outside when he heard someone yelling for help and called 911.
Phillips was rushed to Corewell Health (Beaumont) in Dearborn. On Monday, his right arm was amputated above the elbow.
"He is an amazing father and a good husband who takes pride in his family," his wife Shauntaye Phillips wrote on a GoFundMe page she started to help their family with expenses.
The family has retained attorneys with Fieger Law to represent them.
A spokesperson for Detroit Animal Care and Control said the three dogs involved in the attack have been euthanized. A fourth dog belonging to the couple has been seized.
According to animal control, in 2021, when one of the dogs belonging to the Goodmans bit a child, we're told it was determined that the dog bite was "provoked" and animal control classified the injury as "non-severe."
The dog was quarantined and returned to the couple and they were fined, according to a spokesperson for Detroit Animal Care and Control, who added that the same dog was one of the three involved in Monday's attack on Harold Phillips.
Court records show that in January 2021, Roy Goodman was charged with failing to prevent an animal from engaging in nuisance/menacing behavior, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty but for some reason, the case was dismissed later that year.
In 2021, Roy Goodman's wife was charged with having too many dogs, also a misdemeanor. In the City of Detroit, only two dogs are allowed for each household, according to animal control.
The case against Goodman's wife dragged on and court records show she was a no-show on several occasions. Eventually, a warrant was issued for her arrest, and court records show that warrant is still active.
Roy Goodman told 7 Action News that in addition to the child being bitten, he said a contractor was also bitten as well as another adult on another occasion. The attack on Phillips was the fourth incident.
Goodman said he wanted the dog that bit the child to be euthanized. When asked why that didn't happen, Goodman replied, "My wife and the animal control did what they did and got him released. They returned to my wife and when I decided to stay with my wife, I had to accept that she kept that dog."
Goodman and his wife are each now facing multiple violations including not having licensed dogs, no proof of rabies vaccines, being over the limit of two dogs per household, and failing to prevent dangerous/menacing behaviors in their dogs.
Each violation is a $500 fine.
Goodman said, "I could lose everything and even if I lose everything, to save his life would be worth it."
