Manager Mike Halstead said the gray dog with a white speck between his eyes and a matching stripe down his chest was not quite so timid when employee Lee Carrasco picked him up Tuesday night.
“The dog did have an aggressive demeanor when (Carrasco) picked it up,” Halstead said.
The dog, named Rott — though he is not a Rottweiler — became more docile once removed from its home at 214 S. Jefferson St. shortly before 10 p.m., Carrasco said.
Bay City Police have said Rott mauled the girl around 9:30 p.m. as she attempted to feed him at her grandparent’s house.
“The story we got from the great-grandmother was that she inherited the dog from someone who passed away,” Halstead said, adding the woman said Rott was either 1 or 2 years old and that those present at the scene were evasive to Carrasco’s questions.
“The lady signed him over to us, which gives us ownership of the animal.”
Rott was not licensed and has not been vaccinated for rabies, Halstead said. “Whether or not (an animal has been vaccinated), it is our policy to keep it quarantined for 10 days to behave on the side of caution,” Halstead said.
Halstead added that his office has not had prior problems with Rott.
Rott cannot be adopted out. He will be kept alive at least until Bay County Prosecutor Kurt C. Asbury decides whether or not to file criminal charges against anyone involved in the incident.
A Times reporter went to the South Jefferson house, but several people gathered on its front porch said the dog was not theirs and declined to comment further. The victim is reportedly still at a Flint-area hospital.
(Bay City News - July 6, 2011)
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