(But on a serious note) People who walk should care something like this --- This retractable billy club goes for $20. Goes by the name of Expandable Steel Baton Flex 17 inch
Posted on 02/10/2005 12:01:33 PM PST by ambrose
Pit bull mauls 6-year-old
Vicious attack spurs calls for controls Neighbors save girl attacked by pit bull
02/10/05
By Pete Pichaske Email this story to a friend
A pit bull attacked a 6-year-old Guilford girl last month, mauling her and a neighbor who came to the girl's aid, prompting renewed calls for tighter controls on the dogs.
County animal control officials seized the dog immediately after the attack and euthanized it 10 days later, after determining the animal was not rabid.
The girl received "multiple bites" on her back, buttocks and legs that required 19 stitches, according to a police report on the Jan. 14 incident.
Neighbors who witnessed the attack described it as horrific.
"I'll never forget it as long as I live," said Sue Muller, of Glen Oaks, the townhouse community where the attack occurred, who helped free the girl from the dog. "It was horrible."
William Merklinger, another neighbor who came to the girl's aid, described the attack as "the worst thing I've ever seen. ... This dog was just insane, totally insane."
Merklinger said the dog bit him numerous times on his arm. He said he was treated at a hospital and released the same day.
Columbia attorney Bruce Plaxen, who said he has spoken to the child's parents in the wake of the incident, said the 6-year-old victim remains under a doctor's care and has missed school since the incident occurred.
``She's been pretty traumatized by this whole thing," Plaxen said.
Animal Control officials credit Muller and Merklinger with diverting the dog's attention and saving the 6-year-old girl from more serious injury.
"The neighbors are really, truly heroes _ they saved this situation," said Deborah Baracco, the county's animal control administrator.
"This was a pretty severe attack _ something like this happens very infrequently in Howard County," Baracco added. In her 11 years on the job, Baracco said, she could recall only three or four animal attacks as serious.
Merklinger added, "If anyone else had seen it, they would've done the exact same thing."
Dog had prior complaints
The Jan. 14 mauling was not the first time the dog had drawn the attention of county animal control officers.
In September 2003, authorities received a complaint that the dog, Champ, was running loose, Baracco said. Officials cited the owner, whom police identified as Charles Stevenson, for allowing the dog to run free, but the county did not take more serious action, such as confining the dog, because the dog "was not acting aggressive," Baracco added.
Stevenson could not be reached for comment.
County Council Chairman Guy Guzzone, who shepherded a sweeping revision of county animal control laws through the County Council last year, said he was reviewing the incident to make sure it was handled properly.
"I assume it was, but we're looking into this," he said.
The revisions the council adopted last year give animal control officers more power to seize potentially dangerous pets. Officials now can confine without a hearing a pet cited more than once for running free, disturbing the peace or in any way violating the county's animal nuisance laws.
The revisions to the law were prompted in part by two pit bull attacks that occurred in the summer of 2002.
In July of that year, a pit bull chased a child into a neighbor's home in Columbia, crashing through a screen door and biting the homeowner and his golden retriever. In August, another pit bull attacked and broke the arm of an 8-year-old girl.
Children chased loose dog
The Jan. 14 attack took place in the 9400 block of Granite Hill.
Baracco, Merklinger and Muller gave the following account of the incident.
The dog, described as an adult male pit bull, got out of its owner's house and a group of children tried to catch it.
The dog turned on the 6-year-old girl and began to bite her. Muller saw the attack and ran to the girl's aid, at which time the dog began to chase Muller. Merklinger then ran between the dog and Muller. The dog bit Merklinger, who kicked the dog and ran away.
Muller, meanwhile, returned to the 6-year-old girl, who he described as hysterical and unable to get off the ground. Muller sent the other children home then tried to get the girl to safety.
With the dog again chasing him, Merklinger ran to the child and scooped her up. Another neighbor appeared and motioned for Merklinger, Muller and the child to come into his house.
The three raced to the house, slamming the door behind them just in front of the pursuing dog. The dog repeatedly leaped at the door, growling and barking.
"I thought the dog would break down the door," wrote Muller in an account of the incident she sent to friends. "I can't remember how many times it jumped at the door."
An ambulance arrived, but when emergency medical technicians climbed out, the dog ran toward them and the technicians jumped back into their vehicle. Shortly thereafter, police and animal control officers arrived. By that time, the dog was back in its owner's house.
The owners willingly gave up the dog to animal control officers, Baracco said.
The county has closed its investigation into the incident, she said.
Debate on controls heats up
Muller and Merklinger said the incident convinced them tighter controls are needed on potentially vicious dogs.
"Something needs to be done about dogs like that," said Merklinger, who works as a letter carrier. "Maybe a ban on that type of dog."
Muller, a natural resource technician for the county Department of Recreation and Parks, said she is "on a mission" to push for tighter controls since the attack.
"I'm not sure what direction to go with this but the attack should never have happened," Muller said. She has spoken to a Guzzone aide and to her local homeowners' association representative about possible solutions including a ban on having pit bulls as pets, she said.
Guzzone, in whose district the attack occurred, said the attack had not altered his opposition to a species-specific ban. The council considered such a ban last year but rejected it because other jurisdictions with bans have had a hard time defending them against legal challenges.
"The problem is you can make any dog vicious," Guzzone said. Bans "have a hard time passing muster in the courts."
Paul Gerulaitis, owner of Howard Property Management, which manages Glen Oaks, said he was "very concerned about this attack. We're looking into the whole situation."
He declined further comment.
E-mail Pete Pichaske at ppichaske@patuxent.com.
ping.
My friends pit bull is a big baby. It was scared of my chihuahua. Not all pit bulls are vicious.
There's two huge problems right there in bold. One, dog owners who own questionable breeds can never let the animal out of their control, even accidentally.
And two, chasing the dog was the exact wrong thing for the kids to do. Many dogs, even mellow breeds, won't take kindly to this and may try to defend themselves. Kids will be kids, but as parents we need to try and educate them about not chasing/cornering/accosting strange animals, particularly dogs.
LQ
That's easy. What's the charge in Guilford for leaving a loaded weapon on the sidewalk? Has the dog's owner been charged?
"The problem is you can make any dog vicious," Guzzone said. Bans "have a hard time passing muster in the courts."
See, that's the difference between dogs and handguns. You can't ban a specific breed of dog because any dog can be made vicious. However, the courts uphold handgun bans, because every handgun is vicious.</sarcasm>
So, why didn't they just shoot the dog?
Because that would only have made him more angry.
Watching Animal Precinct, most of the abused dogs the animal control officers have picked up have been Pit Bulls. And they've all been very mild-mannered loving dogs.
I agree, that's why I said kids will be kids. They're not responsible, but we adults also need to do a better job of training our children how to act around animals. Anything we can do to teach them how to lessen their risk is a Good Thing. It may not stick, but we have to try.
LQ
I agree. I have two pitbulls and they are both big babys! The breed is actually named “nurse maid dogs”. They are very loyal. I think the problem is irresponsible breeding. I think there needs to be a ordinancy in place stating that you have to have your dog altered to own one in Howard Co. 80% plus dog attacks are from unaltered males and females with puppies. Lots of dogs bite... the problem is, when a pit or rotty do it, it causes a lot of damage!
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