Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson said Sgt. James Hunt was dispatched to the John and Karlene Deacons home at 1:20 p.m. Monday to investigate a complaint that a dog attacked a child in Filion.
“When Sgt. Hunt arrived, he learned that a 12-year-old Filion boy had been riding his bike southbound, on the west side of N. Van Dyke (M-53), north of Filion Road in Meade Township,” said Hanson. “Apparently, a male pit bull mix dog broke free from its cable and bit the boy.”
The dog then bit the boy several more times on various parts of his body.
“The boy attempted to escape, which caused him to run eastbound, running on to busy M-53 in front of a passing semi-truck,” said Hanson on Tuesday. “Thankfully, that truck driver was paying attention and made major braking actions. The driver was able to avoid striking the child.”
The attack finally ended when the dog’s 34-year-old female owner ran from her house along M-53 and grabbed the severed cable.
Hanson said the boy was taken to Huron Medical Center in Bad Axe for medical treatment, which resulted in numerous stitches.
The dog’s owner has been cooperating with Sgt. Hunt’s request to quarantine the dog for at least 10 days. The dog was taken by Deputy Ryan Swartz to the Thumb Animal Shelter near Elkton.
Tuesday morning, Sgt. Hunt met with the dog’s owner to discuss possible charges she may face relating to the attack.
Karlene Deacons said she wasn't home when the incident occurred, but her husband was.
"It was pretty scary to come home to find out this happened," Deacons said. "He's (the boy) doing better today. He's pretty sore, but doing good."
The Deacons live just two houses down and on the opposite side of the road from the owner of the pit bull mix.
(Huron Daily Tribune - June 15, 2011)
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