Lind Simonsen, 55, said he credits divine intervention for putting him in the right place at the right time to save his wife and dog from the vicious animals. As it was, Gallagher’s side was torn open, requiring 37 stitches, and both Lind and Jorgann were left with broken bones.

The Simonsens are urging anyone who saw the attack or anyone who knows anything about the two pit bulls to contact Tacoma Animal Control.

“We need to find these dogs,” Lind said Sunday. “It could be a child next time.”

A Tacoma p olice spokesman did not return a page seeking comment Sunday.

Jorgann, also 55, and Gallagher were out for their evening stroll about 7:15 p.m. Friday when two small pit bulls darted across the street near the intersection of Norpoint Way and 52nd Avenue Northeast.

“My first thought was, ‘I hope they don’t get hit by a car,’” she said during an interview Sunday.

The dogs, which were wearing spiked training collars, started circling and sniffing Jorgann and Gallagher. They were the size of cocker spaniels, both dark, as if they came from the same litter.

“I froze,” she said. “A lot of times they just sniff and then go away.”

But one of the pit bulls lunged for Gallagher’s neck.

“I knew I was in trouble, but there was nothing I could do,” Jorgann said. “I started pounding on the dog’s nose with no effect. I was screaming ‘Help me! Help me!’”

Sometimes Lind accompanies his wife and dog, but when the weather is nice, he rides his bike instead. He often heads for a nearby Bonneville Power Administration trail, but something on Friday told him to turn in the opposite direction. It was the same voice that told him to speed up, he said.

“I truly believe God was telling me what to do and he was directing me to be where I needed to be,” Lind said.

He arrived in time to see his wife fall to the ground. She remembered trying to keep her head turned so the dogs couldn’t sink their teeth into her neck.

“I tried to get my bike between them and the dogs,” he said.

Lind started punching the dogs as hard as he could. They fled eventually, but Lind’s blows broke the little finger of his right hand.

Medics arrived and helped treat Jorgann, whose hand was repeatedly bitten, breaking one of the bones, and Gallagher, who was taken to an emergency veterinarian. The vet bill was more than $1,200, “but worth every penny,” Lind said.

“If it would have been a smaller dog or a child, they would have killed them,” he said.

Gallagher was all wags and licks Sunday, though she whimpered and barked in her sleep. Jorgann said she doesn’t think she’ll be taking evening walks any time soon.

Lind said the people who stopped to help were the “good part of the community.” Those who raised and likely trained the dogs to be vicious are the “bad part.”

“These people need to realize what they’ve done,” he said.

Those with information are urged to call Animal Control at 253-627-7387.

Ian Demsky: 253-597-8872

blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime

Staff writer Debby Abe contributed to this report.