11 year old recovers from pit bull attack

Corvalis Gazette Times ^ | April 12, 2006 | Tony Lystra

[Wristpin]

Dog has been placed in quarantine, but girl’s mother wants to see more done

Sydney Robbins wanted to see the puppies. There were 10 of them, all cuddled behind a couch near their mother, a pit bull named Jasmine.

But as the 11-year-old approached, Jasmine lunged, latching onto her chin and lower lip and shaking the girl’s body, according to her family and a Benton County Sheriff’s Office report.

When the attack was over, most of Sydney’s lower lip and some of her chin were gone. Her shirt was drenched with blood and a pulpy hole exposed her teeth and gums. Sydney’s family said they never found the torn pieces; they suspect Jasmine ate them.

“I think it was going for her throat,” said Tiffany Robbins, the girl’s mother, who did not witness the April 3 attack but has tried to glean every detail from those who did. “Had her neck not been tucked in, I think she would be dead right now.”

Michelle Randall, Jasmine’s owner, said she warned Sydney not to go near Jasmine. “She ran into the house after being told not to,” Randall said. “I think she startled the dog.”

But Sydney’s family said the girl was invited to see the puppies and that she did nothing to provoke the animal.

Sydney’s babysitter rushed the girl to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center where a surgeon managed to fashion a new lip from tissue inside her cheek and mouth.

[solosmoke]

I didn't see any of them that were full blooded pit bulls. American Bulldogs, though similar looking, are a completely different breed. They get mistaken for pit bulls all the time, and probably add to the numbers, as do boxers, mastiffs, bordeaux mastiffs, etc. American bulldogs are not as rare as you would think. They are very prevalent in the south, but not fighting other dogs as much. They are normally used to bait wild hogs, and are also used in weight pulling quite often. They are about as much pit bull as they are english bulldog.