Virgil Anthony Cantrell was approaching a neighbor's house when their dog attacked him about 8 o'clock Friday night. Carter County Sheriff's Deputies arrived to find Cantrell lying unconscious on the ground.
Authorities say the dog was standing over him, and they were forced to shoot and kill the pit bull.
Cantrell was being transported to a trauma center in Dallas when he stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at Denton Regional Hospital later in the night.
Deputies say the pit bull's owner Rick Grant of Ardmore is being charged with harboring a vicious animal.
Local residents say this is not the first time his dog has attacked someone, and this tragedy could have been prevented.
"About 30 days ago, he bit my son and he had to have stitches put in his hand, and then about 30 days before that we had to call the sheriff's because there were 2 dogs fighting, and the kids were trying to come over and break them up so we've had problems in the past with this same dog," Lindsey Crook said.
Residents were told after those incidents there is nothing police could do because the attacks occurred on private property.
(KXII - April 25, 2011)
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