Posted on 04/21/2009 6:46:27 PM PDT by Chet 99
By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
April 21, 2009 09:27 pm
ANDERSON — A woman was attacked by a pit bull Monday after which the dog’s owner beat the animal to death.
According to Detective Mitch Carroll of the Anderson Police Department, police were called to the 2400 block of Jackson Street at about 10:40 p.m. on reports that a female pit bull had attacked a 20-year-old woman.
Carroll said the dog’s alleged owner, 25-year-old Dustin Haskett, pulled the dog from the woman and strangled the animal with an extension cord, according to witness reports.
The attack victim, 20-year-old Kayla Greene, said she and her sister, Erin, were walking down Jackson Street headed to the Ricker’s Gas Station when Erin saw the pit bull trotting toward them.
Erin Greene said she warned her sister not to run, but Kayla took off.
As she ran, Erin said the dog caught her sister and leapt up to her back, biting Kayla near the shoulder.
Kayla said the dog bit her on her arms and buttocks before it was pulled away. Kayla said she was not pulled to the ground by the dog.
She was taken to the hospital for numerous bite wounds and received stitches.
Haskett said once he pulled the dog from Kayla, he took the dog across the street and was handed the handle to a sledge hammer by his friend, 32-year-old Anderson resident Brian Peavler.
“I beat it with a stick,” Haskett said Tuesday. He estimated that he beat the dog for five minutes before it died. Haskett said the dog bit his hand once.
After beating the dog, Haskett said he saw that it was still breathing. “I had my foot on her throat until she was done.”
Lisa Greene, mother of Kayla and Erin, said she witnessed Haskett tie the extension cord around the dog’s neck and lift it off the ground, hanging the dog until it died.
Kayla, Erin and Lisa Greene said that Haskett was the owner of the dog and named it Angel, but Haskett said he had the dog only for two days before it broke out of his yard and attacked Kayla Greene.
“The cursory investigation revealed that the dog had been in the custody of Mr. Haskett for some time. It is up to opinion on how long he’s had the dog. He gave differing accounts of how long he’s had the dog,” Carroll said Tuesday.
Carroll said police are not currently requesting charges against Haskett for animal cruelty but said they are contemplating charging him with harboring an unimmunized animal, a Class B misdemeanor.
Determining the viciousness of the dog will be important to the investigation, Carroll said. “It’s not as if he grabbed Fifi the poodle with a bow on her head and wrapped her around the tree. We’re talking about a vicious animal.”
It will be up to Madison County Prosecutor Tom Broderick to decide if cruelty charges should be pursued, Carroll said. “There’s an opportunity for additional charges to be levied versus Mr. Haskett.”
Kayla Greene said she felt that the dog was under control after it was removed from her and did not feel that it needed to be killed in order to protect others at the scene.
She would have preferred that the animal be humanely euthanized by animal control officials.
The Greene family also believes the breed of the dog had little to do with the attack. They said they have owned pit bulls before and don’t believe the breed is naturally more aggressive or vicious.
Though she is still recovering from scars on her back, arms and abdomen, Kayla Greene said she does not blame the dog, but the owner.
“It was raised mean,” she said.
Haskett said he only did what was necessary. “As far as animal cruelty, it wasn’t fun and games for me.”
Contact Brandi Watters: 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
I carry a pistol when I go on neighborhood strolls. I’m much more concerned about a 4 legged varmint, but I’ll deal with whatever comes.
He only had the dog two days, he beat it and hanged it to kill it after it attacked somebody. Is there anyway to prevent this moron from ever owning another dog in his life, and also, can we go after the moron who sold him this dog?
And Kayla, do us a favor and don’t run when you see a strange dog, especially after your sister says “Don’t run”. Making yourself look like prey in front of an unknown predator is just not that bright.
it is the two legged variety that provides the most potential harm during strolls in the hood.
Not in my hood. In my hood, it’s loose pit bulls.
..Another trailer park status symbol bites the dust.
I think the gal who ran like hell as soon as she saw that it was a pit bull came to a different conclusion from the years of owning pit bulls. LOL.
there you have a point unless she wanted to get attacked.
I use to have to make calls in the hood, and I mean THE HOOD, so i always brought with me dog treats just in case. Not that it would have necessarily helped me but would have given me an option. Never had to use them with exception when I fed dogs behind bars. At least it shut them up.
I think the gal who ran like hell as soon as she saw that it was a pit bull came to a different conclusion from the years of owning pit bulls. LOL.
~~~
Well,,,!DUH!...;0)
Well now you know your game plan.. let your neighbor’s mutts attack you... maybe they’ll then strangle them.
You are a bad boy........and I heard also a stinker. But that was just some gossip...
LMAO! Harley will protect me,,,
He can’t reach the cookies...;0)
See what I have to put up with ?...;0)
Or perhaps she over-reacted after being fed repeated reports of "pit bull" attacks by a media and its regurgitating sycophants intent on ginning up hysteria to garner attention to their rags and themselves.
There needs to be more “Pitbull killed BEFORE attacking woman”.
So the guy takes responsibility for his dog's actions and he's still a moron? Pit bull owners can't win for losing on this forum.
Mine, too. Cannot even walk in a cool part of the canyon because of loose pits and Rottweilers in the neighborhood (thought I was a goner once when one of each started growling at me as I walked back toward the road from a dead-end street; had to walk past them), known for decades as a place to buy drugs. Sooner or later Chet will no doubt be posting a story about somebody in that neighborhood being mauled by one of these dogs -- who cares if they're "pit bulls," they're dogs with short hair and gigantic jaws that all pretty much look the same. I AM TOTALLY AGAINST BREED BANS, understand, but I'm all for shooting the loose dogs on sight. Too bad it's essentially illegal to conceal-carry in So Cal.
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