For 20 hours, wild dogs treated Errol Oxendine like a piece of raw meat. The Wilmington nurse was attacked by 16 wild dogs while on his way to California.

Just over a week ago Oxendine was taking a scenic route through New Mexico, on his way to California. He pulled over near the town of Pinos Altos, and soon found himself surrounded.

He threw his cell phone in one direction and rolled into a ditch in an attempt to escape the dogs.  He would stay in that ditch for the next 20 hours in below freezing temperatures.

"Every time I shivered they attacked," Oxendine recalls.

His frostbitten toes and agonizing pain didn't stop him from fighting for his life.

He described his defense against the wild dogs: "[I would] let 'em get close, then beat the snot out of them."

The animals mauled Oxendine three times before a suspicious near-by resident came upon him the next afternoon.

 The rescuer told Oxendine it's a dog-eat-dog world in the mountains, and took him to the hospital.

Now, as Oxendine recovers, he counts his blessings. "I feel like a kid in a candy store," he says. "I am very lucky."

Oxendine still must retrieve his car from New Mexico. This time, he says he will take the interstate home, choosing safety over scenery.

Three of the 16 dogs have been captured. Officials in New Mexico have set traps in an attempt to capture the rest.

The three captured dogs have tested negative for rabies.

wect.com