The Kansas City Pitch‘s “Kansas City Strip” column is written with an unfortunate narrative conceit: the perspective comes from Kansas City cuts of beef. This week’s subject matter creates a terrible carnivorous resonance. When is “dog bites man” news?

Cars squealed around him. As soon as he hit the pavement, the dogs were on him. One bit his right wrist; another ripped into his left ankle, pinning him.

Most terrifying was the silence. No growls, no snarls. The beasts weren’t angry, just hungry. They tore at Dixon’s loose-fitting clothes, working methodically like puppies trying to open a bag of food. Dixon lost track of one dog and looked over his left shoulder to find it; it snapped toward his face, ripping a hunk of flesh from his upper cheek and temple. He watched as the animal gulped it down.

“I was amazed at how wide he could open his mouth,” Dixon says.