Posted on 04/14/2010 5:14:21 PM PDT by Chet 99
9-Year Old Badly Hurt In Pit Bull Attack By Michael George SHEBOYGAN- 9-year old A.J. Sterling is recovering at home after being attacked by a pit bull. His injuries are severe, and his parents are angry with the dog’s owners.
Witness Connor Lieser tells TODAY’S TMJ4 the attack appeared to be unprovoked, as the boy was reaching down to pet the dog.
Maria Ramirez and Afero Sterling, parents of A.J., just watched him go through plastic surgery. He was bitten on the face by the pit bull just one block from his home in Sheboygan.
“I wouldn’t want any child to go through that, let alone any person. It’s just really hard,” said Ramirez.
Police say the dog was being walked by a 12-year old girl on the sidewalk. A.J.’s parents say their son told them he was talking to the girl when the dog started growling. A.J. says he was backing away.
“That’s when the dog lunged at him. He said it bit him in the face, drug him across the ground, and that’s when it ripped his cheek off,” said Afero Sterling.
The gruesome injury described by Afero is confirmed by witness and police accounts.
Police will be checking whether the dog has a history of violence or has rabies. For now, the dog is on quarantine at the owner’s home. A.J.’s parents say they were told the dog was originally rescued from an abusive or neglectful background. They say the dog’s current owners are to blame for the attack.
“That dog needs to be put to sleep. To have a 12-year old girl walk around a pit bull with a history of abuse and neglect and violence, it’s just absurd to me,” said Maria Ramirez.
A.J. is now out of the hospital and recovering at home, but he will likely need more plastic surgery in 6 months. Police are still investigating to determine whether any charges will be filed against the owner or whether the dog will be surrendered or put down.
“Plus, who doesn’t love dog slobber and a 110 lb lap dog?!”
/waves hand wildly!....:))
I’m glad your baby is going to be okay.
[knowing guys, years from now he’ll use the scar to impress the chicks]...LOL
Just had another thought, if your going to use a 3 sided structure (like my daughter had for her horses) make sure the door opening is not facing the winds. With a barn that has 4 sides, the side the winds come from should not be the door...thats all I can think of....keep me posted if you do get goats....I read about a guy that rents his goats by the day...he brings them in in the morning, lets them browse and takes them home at night...I thought what a great idea, but he had to carry his own fenceing. probably snow drift fence....
Thank you very, very much for the extra information! I’m saving it and printing it out, because we’re moving a few things and adding some power system things around here (electrical, etc.). Then we’ll put some real time into learning about various breeds (feed, medicine, temperaments, produce, and the like). Goats aren’t cattle, but our temperament is good enough for learning (young folks here, too).
Hmmm...never thought I’d be a goat roper in a literal sense, but the place is full of growth that is not good hay and needs cleaning up! ...needs fertilized, too. We’re doing soil tests pretty soon, after the runoff dries a little (melting drifts here).
Our flock got pretty big and the year hubby passed on we were going to put up 3000 bales...to be sure not to run out if spring was late. But we had 80 goats at that time..
I am sure its the same with cattle, the hay must be kept dry, if it gets moldy it can kill a goat....
Shortly after my husband died my kids came out and helped a lot, but one of the feeders in the pasture got moldy if it rained you had to dump all the hay out because of mold..I had one goat die of encephalitis due to not cleaning out the pasture hay feeder....I found her walking around in a circle (symptom) of encephalitis.) It took her 24 hours to die and I got her in the barn and she seizured for those hours before she died...Couldn't put her down by shooting, as its a blood born disease.
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