 |
| Dalton Ballentine |
Dalton Ballentine, 5, was playing outside with friends Monday afternoon when the dog escaped a neighbor’s home and attacked him, leaving gaping wounds.
Dalton’s parents, older siblings and grandmother were outside watching the children play when the attack happened.
“That dog was ripping him up, tossing him like a rag doll,” said Brandy Ballentine, Dalton’s mother.
“If we hadn’t been right there, if that dog had a hold of him any longer, he wouldn’t be here now,” Brandy said quietly, looking at her son lying in his hospital bed at Muskogee Regional Medical Center.
Animal Control Officer Robert Godfrey said the dog was accidentally let out Monday afternoon. Another child told Dalton to run, so he did.
At some point, Dalton fell to the ground and curled up to protect himself, said his father, Jason Ballentine.
“But that dog just grabbed him there on the right side and started tossing him around,” Jason said.
 |
| Dalton was playing IN HIS OWN YARD when attacked |
Godfrey was called to pick up the dog and take a report.
“It was not a pretty scene. It was a pretty bad injury to the boy,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey said he’s seen thousands of dog bites over the years.
“But when a 5-year old is laying there screaming with his back torn open — I wasn’t prepared for that,” Godfrey said. “I feel for the little guy.”
The dog weighed around 60 pounds, Godfrey said. The owners were cooperative and gave the dog over to Godfrey to be destroyed.
 |
"It don't matter if it's a Poodle or a Chihuahua, a Great Dane or whatever they will resort to that and take off after anything that takes off running," Officer Godfrey said. |
Because the dog did not have rabies shots, its head is being sent to Oklahoma City for testing, Godfrey said.
The dog owners were fined for allowing the dog to run loose, not having shots and for the attack, Godfrey said. Those fines amounted to more than $700.
Dalton’s surgery was to clean and close his wounds.
His wounds will heal and his scars will look less terrible as he grows, Brandy Ballentine said doctors told her.
But Dalton’s parents want to be sure their children can play safely outdoors.
Godfrey said it falls on the shoulders of dog owners to make that happen.
“You have to be diligent, make sure the fence is secure, make sure chains are secure, make sure they’re up on their shots,” Godfrey said.
Dalton wasn’t responsible for being attacked. He was innocently playing in the yard when the dog got loose, the animal control officer said.
There isn’t much parents can do besides keep their kids indoors or supervise their children playing outside, which the Ballentine family was doing.
Usually, people are told not to run from a dog because it can trigger an instinct in the dog to give chase or attack, Godfrey said.
But he can’t say for certain the answer is to always stand your ground.
“That’s a hard call to make, when a dog comes at you,” Godfrey said. “Sometimes if you stand your ground they don’t back down either. It’s almost impossible to give a proper response on that.”
So, big dog owners must take full responsibility for their dogs, Godfrey said.
“No matter how your dog acts around you, that dog acts differently around other people when you’re not present,” Godfrey said. “I hear people say all the time, ‘My dog doesn’t bite,’ but that’s not true. All dogs bite.”
“When you own a pit bull, you have to accept the responsibility that a big dog can inflict serious bodily injury,” Godfrey said. “But the same is true for German shepherds, Rottweilers, even Labradors.”
(Muskogee Phoenix - June 14, 2011)
Read More:
