A pit bull and two other dogs attacked a man in Orem as he walked to work on Tuesday, then attacked another man who came to his aid.

Anthony Denovellis, 23, was walking at 600 East and 1500 South in Orem around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when he was surrounded by a pit bull and two Labrador retrievers. The male pit bull got behind him and bit the back of his legs several times.

Jim McFarland, the owner of Japanese Auto at 1533 S. State St., was opening his business when he saw the dogs surrounding Denovellis. McFarland got the dogs away from Denovellis by yelling to them, but soon became the new target of their hostility.

The dogs surrounded McFarland and the pit bull once again bit the back of his legs. But McFarland was able to draw the dogs into a fenced area at his business, moving slowly while talking loudly to keep the dogs' attention. Once the dogs were inside the fenced area, McFarland got out and closed the gate behind him.

"I understand that dogs play off human emotions, and I just tried to assume the role of the pack leader and not show any fear," McFarland said. "It was just a situation where I realized if I stayed in control of it, it would be OK."

Denovellis suffered several bleeding wounds on the back of his legs, according to Orem police Lt. Doug Edwards. The dog's bite punctured McFarland's skin, but he said the wound was not bleeding. The bite did not break through his heavy cotton work pants, he said.

McFarland said the encounter was a little scary, but was actually kind of fun.

"It was a little bit nerve-wracking but I wouldn't call it a frightening experience at all, because the dog didn't bite me that hard and he wasn't trying real hard to go for me. I might have been afraid a little bit, but it wasn't a frightening situation," he said.

Animal control officers responded to the scene and took the dogs to the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter in Lindon.

A woman came to claim the dogs at the shelter, but left before citations could be issued, Edwards said. About an hour later, a man and woman came in to claim the Labradors, and they said the pit bull belonged to their niece, who had come in earlier, Edwards said.

Edwards said the owner of the pit bull would be cited with dog at large, dog attacking a person, maintaining a vicious animal, no license and no rabies tags. Police issued similar citations to the owners of the other two dogs, he said.

City officials will likely request that the male pit bull be put to sleep as a safety measure, Edwards said.

Pit bulls are often viewed as fierce, aggressive dogs, but that reputation is undeserved, according to Tug Gettling, director of the shelter where the dogs were taken. Because the dogs are so athletic and strong, people often raise pit bulls to be guard dogs that are hostile toward people in general. But pit bulls are no more aggressive than most other breeds by nature, Gettling said.

"The difference is that pit bulls are more capable than other dogs, so that if ... they do bite or are aggressive some manner, the damage they can inflict is so much greater than other dogs," he said.

The American Temperament Test Society has tested dog breeds since the 1970s, and maintains a list of results on its Web site showing what percentage of each breed it has tested fails the group's temperament test. On average, pit bulls fare better on the temperament test than many breeds with friendlier reputations, including beagles and collies.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or jduda@heraldextra.com.