CARTERVILLE (WSIL)---When Alexis Pennington and Justin Christianson went to sleep Wednesday night, everything was normal.
Now, there is a makeshift barricade blocking their back door.
"Thursday morning, at about 4:30 in the morning, we were both asleep in bed. I heard a little scurrying or something in the kitchen. It did get louder. I jumped out of bed to see what it was and saw it was a fairly large dog coming towards us," Christianson recalled.Â
They say the dog ran into their bedroom where it began to attack Pennington, who was still under the blankets.
"And I felt the clench of the jaw on my arm. And I started to scream and I tried to barricade myself under the covers," Pennington said.
Christianson was injured as he attempted to wrestle the dog away.
A picture was knocked to the ground and the dog's claws left marks on the doors.
But as Christianson tried to get the dog out, it kept going for Pennington.
"I just felt hopeless and helpless. I just felt like, I didn't understand. It was dark, and it was morning and I'm half asleep, and our room has turned into a nightmare," she said.
Christianson wrangled the animal, threw it out the window, and the couple called the police.
Christianson had scrapes and cuts on his hand and legs. Pennington was bitten in the elbow, which had some swelling.
After seeking treatment for their injuries, the couple learned the dog was not a stray off the street.
"We still thought that is was kind of a stray dog that came into the house, and when the cops came over, they told us it was a police dog and they would handle it from here on out," said Christianson.Â
The dog was an off duty K9 for the Christopher police department.
The department said in a statement that it is unknown whether it escaped or if it was intentionally let out by an unknown person.
The incident is still under investigation.
The couple said they aren't trying to place blame, they just want answers.
"It was so terrifying. I just want to know why that dog came after us, and me, like that," said Pennington.Â
