4-year-old nearly loses eye after family's newly adopted dog attacks

wsoctv.com ^ | May 3, 2018 | Dave Faherty

[Norski]

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. - A 4-year-old Caldwell County girl was attacked inside her home by the family pet Wednesday.

Family members said they had just recently adopted the dog from the humane society in Catawba County.

Justina Turner, the child's mother, said she and her daughter were in the living room of her home south of Lenoir when the 3-year-old 60-pound dog suddenly attacked the child, biting her face. She said the dog bit down so hard on her daughter that she wasn't sure at first how she was going to get the animal off her.

Turner said the dog nearly ripped her daughter's right eye out, and the girl had to get several stitches around her eye.

"I was in such shock,” Turner said. “I didn't know what was going on. Once I got the dog away from my daughter and saw the blood, it was the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in my life."

The dog is in quarantine for 10 days to be checked for rabies at the Caldwell County Animal Shelter.

Turner said she didn’t know the dog posed a threat because it seemed friendly when she adopted it.

"They really didn't tell us much about the dog,” Turner said. “They just told us to pick out a dog and to take it to the play yard to play with it. The dog seemed kid-friendly."

The humane society handles all adoptions in Catawba County from the intake to temperament screening prior to adoption.

"They're around these animals every day,” said Paris Wright, a visitor at the Catawba County Humane Society. “They see their temperament. They see how they carry themselves. So, I figured that's what they would be able to give me insight and they did."

Humane society officials said an adopted dog can act differently once it's in a home and around children.

Turner said people need to be careful adopting older dogs.

"I just want him out of the house,” she said.

The Catawba County Humane Society adopts more than 1,000 dogs each year and has not had an issue like this.

The dog had been in the human society for more than two months prior to being adopted.

[ConservativeMind]

How many dogs in a pound were “raised correctly?”

If they were raised correctly, they wouldn’t be in the pound.

[Kartographer]

Schnauzers, Cocker Spaniels, Westies, Scotties, Dachshunds or even chihuahuas maul to death people everyday, the media just keep it a secret because they are pitaphobics don’t you know. ;-)

[Norski]

“This was not a dog for a family with a 4 year old to adopt”

Agreed.

“There was a reason it was in the pound for 2 months. “

Many, I am sure.

“Probably other more dog-experienced people had passed on it because they saw subtle behaviors she had not picked up on.”

Yes, the Humane Society Shelter workers would have known the dog’s propensities.
Here it comes . . .

” It’s a shame that it will probably be killed because of this woman’s stupidity.”

You have now shifted all blame to the child’s mother. And your concern is not for the child, but a dangerous dog. In addition, you have placed no blame at the feet of the Humane Society Shelter.

[Hot Tabasco]

Well, now I know.......

[familyop]

"'Stunning' cattle for slaughter is what leaves the meat full of blood and shock hormones, making it a poor choice as food."

Blood: southern and eastern Europe's favorite part along with horse meat, rats, etc. ;-) I can't imagine how their descendants in the northeast and west in the U.S. want slaughtering done now.

Though the animal is rendered instantly unconscious, the heart keeps beating long enough to bleed it out.

* Stun the animal as instructed.

* Cut the carotid artery in the throat and hoist it up by the tendons just above the hind feet (on large animals: chain hoist, any tractor with a lift, etc.).

* Skin, gut, etc.

"Shock hormones." Heh. Those are shared between organs and central nervous system parts to be discarded. We don't eat guts, unless a family member or neighbor likes liver. We don't rot ("age") the meat before eating, either.

It only takes a few minutes for an experienced person to slaughter an animal. After cleaning and quartering, butchering takes longer.

Much better than meat sold in the market.

[editor-surveyor]

.
You seem to miss the fact that they don’t bleed them out.
.

[familyop]

It’s good to get away from that starved, tough, stringy beef that was fed on nothing but roughage and stampeded by predators all over the horrid desert on the Range, too. ...or is that the Strange?

;-)

[familyop]

"You seem to miss the fact that they don’t bleed them out."

That may be true. I only wrote about how my neighbors and I have done it.

[Norski]

Yes, the mother gives the impression of possibly lacking common sense, or being unknowing. The bad bleach job doesn’t help, and she was not dressed well. It is easy to say this.

Note, however, in the video,the house appears very clean and neatly furnished, and the child well-taken care of, beloved and behaved.

She may not know much about dogs, have wanted a guard dog (no man in house) and one with short hair that did not get messy.

[nicollo]

Don’t waste time. Gouge its eyes.

[nicollo]

If they had a cockier spaniel instead of a pit the kid wouldn’t had his face mauled.

Yeah, but the kid would have been humiliated after the Cocker destroyed him in a round of chess or scrabble...

[9YearLurker]

What a surprise...

[moovova]

“The Catawba County Humane Society adopts more than 1,000 dogs each year and has not had an issue like this.”

Right.

[Vendome]

It would never make it to the vet

[editor-surveyor]

Might not work.

Pinching the nose always works, but a firm hold on the neck is a necessary personal protection move.

[familyop]

If legal in your jurisdiction, a push dirk will work.

[nicollo]

Might not work.

I saved my Cavalier's life by gouging the attacking Pit's eyes. It had my dog by the head, and all I could do was introduce my thumb right into its eyeballs... pressure, more pressure, and even more pressure and, half a second later, baa-yam, damned thing ran off crazy yelping, and I was able to collect and get out of harms way.

Wish that was the only attack on my dogs. Just last night some foolish mohron thought he was too cool for a leash, and his mutt went after my two Cavs, one of which is friendly, the other which is terrified of other dogs. I pulled the crew behind me and pointed and yelled the mutt down. Were it more aggressive, I'd have had to kick it out of the way, as I had to do to a German Shepherd a neighbor let loose once as I was walking by his house, and another time as another neighbor was walking her Shepherd by my house as I was coming out to walk two of my dogs. It dragged her at us like a muscle-man pulling a sled.

So many fools. Damn, I guess I need a new neighborhood...

[nicollo]

If legal in your jurisdiction, a push dirk will work.

I live in Arlington, VA, so EVERYTHING is illegal -- except idiocy.

[Norski]

Certainly this comes under “If you want to make sure something is done right, do it yourself”.

One would have to make sure of proof of the rabies vaccination before disposing of the carcass. Otherwise, the child gets painful shots or you need to supply the animal head to the state lab for rabies testing.

[hal ogen]

I lived in rockville in monkey county MD (THE Freak state ) for 30+ years . Arlington must be it’s sister city...a covey of pathetic losers there.