Huron County Magistrate Jessica L. Testolin heard testimony from a number of people involved in the case, including the victim, the victim’s father, John Deacons, the dog owner, Kelley Carpenter of Filion, one of Carpenter’s friends, the police officer, Sgt. Jim Hunt, who investigated the case, and kennel owner Deen Forster of Thumb Animal Shelter where the dog was held following the attack.
Carpenter cried on the witness stand as she sought to have the dog returned to her, promising the court she’d construct a fence to keep the dog inside at all times.
The most compelling testimony during the hearing was from Forster, who has worked with dogs for nearly 40 years.
Forster told the court that the dog, a pit bull / boxer mix named Buddy, would have to be confined at all times if it were allowed to leave the shelter. She said the dog snaps at her husband, and the dog isn’t allowed to be with other dogs.
During questioning, Forster told the court the dog is unstable.
“A stable dog will bark. A stable dog wouldn’t bite,” she said.
While on the witness stand, Carpenter said she tied Buddy out on a rope that was 2-inches thick anchored to her back porch. She said the dog broke free from the rope the day of the attack.
Carpenter said that prior to the dog attack she observed the victim, who is her son’s friend, ride by her home on his bicycle.
“I heard him scream... When I heard him scream I kind of knew what happened,” she said.
During testimony, the victim in the case listened as the incident was told to the magistrate.
The boy’s father said during testimony that he heard his son scream, but it was a scream that was unrecognizable to him at first. He said when he went out to the road (M-53 in Filion) he could see in the distance his son’s bike on the road and a semi-truck stopped.
“I thought he’d been hit (by a vehicle),” said Deacons. “He (the boy) said he’d been attacked by the dog.”
Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski was seeking to have the dog destroyed.
Carpenter’s attorney, Jill Schmidt, argued that the dog, raised by Carpenter since it was two weeks old, would not be allowed to run free or be kept on a rope, but be confined if her client could keep the dog.
Testolin ruled the dog be destroyed due to the type of attack on the child, the fact the dog was not provoked, and that it caused extensive injuries to the child.
She added that Forster stated the dog had an unstable temperament and was a danger to society, and that the dog snapped without provocation.
“In my opinion, the dog is a danger to the community and can’t be rehabilitated,” said Testolin.
“Based on statute, the dog was running at large, bit a person, and should be destroyed.”
According to reports from the incident, the Filion boy was riding his bicycle along M-53 to his grandparents’ house to visit around 1 p.m. June 13 when Carpenter’s dog ran after the boy and bit him on the ankle.
The boy told police he noticed the dog run off the neighbor’s porch and chase after him. He said he tried riding the bike faster to get away from the dog, but the dog caught him. The boy said he attempted to use his bike to block the dog from reaching him, but the dog pushed the bike down.
Reports indicate the boy abandoned the bike and ran across the roadway in front of an oncoming semi-truck traveling on M-53 in the Filion area. The driver of the semi-truck told police he had to slam on his brakes to stop in time to avoid hitting the boy with the semi-truck. The boy said he tripped and fell down and the dog bit him again, this time on the boy’s face and side of his head.
Reports indicate Carpenter ran after the dog and had to pull the dog away from the boy. However, in court Carpenter said she did not have to pull the dog off the boy.
A witness who called 9-1-1 told police she heard the dog growling and the boy screaming. When she ran outside, she observed the dog on top of the child.
Following the attack, Deacons transported his son to Huron Medical Center for medical treatment.
Carpenter was issued a citation for dog bite/attack and dog at large.
Testolin said Carpenter will also have to pay the cost of housing the dog at the shelter and the cost to have the dog destroyed.
(Huron Daily Tribune - July 21, 2011)
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