Tarentum dog-mauling victim reels from learning what police say about attack

Tarentum resident Michael Shutack was still reeling from a Halloween dog mauling when he learned Tuesday that the man who police said helped him escape the jaws of two pit bulls is the person who set them loose.

“As much as I went through my whole life, including being in the service, it was the most scariest thing in the world,” said Shutack, 60. “I had blood from head to toe. There was no stopping them. They were like rabid animals.”

Tarentum police on Tuesday charged Shawn Flynn, 34, with two counts of aggravated assault after acquiring video footage that showed him letting the dogs run from their North Ormond rowhouse.

He is also charged with cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. He faces a preliminary hearing July 30 before District Judge Carolyn Bengel.

Two adult pit bulls and one puppy were involved in the incident. Officers shot and killed one of the adult dogs; the other was later euthanized.

Three people, including Flynn, were injured. Faith Valasek, a resident of East Sixth Avenue, was bitten in the forearms and treated at the hospital.

Shutack’s injuries were more severe. He was off for two months from his job at Golden Dawn in New Kensington and still has scars on his face, hands and legs.

“I could see my ankle bone when I was in the hospital,” he said. “I have permanent nerve damage, and I can definitely feel it by the end of the day.”

Shutack and Valasek have filed a civil suit against the landlord of the North Ormond apartment building. Valasek declined to comment, she said, on advice from her attorney.

According to the police affidavit, Flynn was initially hailed as a hero for hurling himself onto the dogs as they attacked Shutack on East Seventh Avenue, shortly before the borough’s trick-or-treat began.

Police say security footage showed Flynn running from the North Ormond porch where the dogs lived with tenants Brandon Baynes and Mariah Sanders.

Baynes, 36, previously faced charges relating to the dog attacks, but they were dismissed. He could not be reached for comment.

Last month, police received video footage from a neighbor that reportedly showed Flynn as the person who let the dogs out the apartment door. Flynn admitted it was him, according to the criminal complaint, and told police that the landlord had offered money to another tenant for someone to let the dogs loose. But Flynn did not hear that from the landlord; he told police the tenant made that claim.

As of Wednesday, no charges had been filed against the landlord or the woman that Flynn claimed set up the deal.

Shutack continues to recover from wounds, saying the “hardest part is the internal healing.”

“I have flashbacks, I’m not gonna deny it,” he said. “Everything keeps rehashing.

“I’m just glad it was me and not a kid.”

Shutack said it was important to him to set the record straight: “(Flynn) didn’t save me. He was just trying to get into the house and threw a carpet on the dogs.

“It was another person who threw a PlayStation at the dogs and got them off of me. If it’s true that he’s the one who did this, they can lock him up and throw the key away.”