Pit bulls dogs attack Bronx man in almost fatal attack which rips off his ear

NEW YORK CITY — Shocking video has been released of a man almost being mauled to death by a couple of pit bulls on Belmont Avenue, in the Bronx, on Friday morning. 62-year-old Francesco Bove was walking to his job at a local church when he crossed paths with 55-year-old Cynthia Oliver and her two dogs. 

Bove says he thought the dogs were friendly because they were wagging their tails, but then Oliver released the animals. The pit bulls attacked Bove, biting him on the hands and legs, and even ripping off his right ear. When the dogs dragged the defenseless man to the side of the road, brave onlookers intervened to try and rescue him. But the dogs momentarily attacked them too, badly biting a 46-year-old man on the arm. 
When the priest at Bove's church heard what happened, he rushed to the scene and read Bove his last rites. Bove, a devout Catholic, says he gained strength from the priest's touch and managed to hang onto life.