Missouri lawmakers starting an attack on killer dogs have heard from a man who has survived an attack by a killer dog.

Buckner resident Steve McBee and his wife Kristi were walking down a country road last fall when a bull mastiff attacked on the dead run. It went for straight for Kristi.  He tried to block it, but in an instant it had grabbed her.

"You don’t know what it’s like to see your wife or a loved one thrown around by a mastiff dog," he told the Missouri Senate’s Judiciary Committee, "I’ll never forget that."

He grabbed the dog and yelled for his wounded wife to run for help. He soon found himself in a desperate fight for the next seven or eight minutes.  "It was kill or be killed," he said.  McBee was able to grab the dog’s collar and twist it, choking the dog until a neighbor arrived with a kitchen knife that McBee used to kill the dog.

Lee’s Summit Senator Matt Bartle says the rising number of attacks by so-called "power-bred" dogs is behind his bill making dog owners liable,with months of jail time possible for instances like the attack onthe McBees.

But Insurance company representatives say the bill has some obvious holes, including a defense by the owner of a dog that has been taunted or hurt, perhaps by trespassers.

Bartle says he wants to send a strong signal that people with dogs, especially breeds with recognized mean streaks, will be more responsible for them. A Senate committee is considering changing the bill before sending it to the floor for debate.

The bill is SB834.

download Steven McBee’s description of the attack (5:12 mp3)