The incident happened around 1 p.m. at 549 Roosevelt Trail. According to Molly Flynn, fiancé of the child’s grandfather, the dog, 2½ -year-old Kappa, had never showed aggressive behavior prior to Monday’s attack. Flynn said the dog was part pit bull, but really a “mutt.”
According to Flynn, the attack took place as Vanessa Irish, who is the child’s mother and a resident of Maplewood Drive in Windham, was coming to Flynn’s home for a visit just before 1 p.m. Monday.
Irish, 23, was carrying her son, Devin, along a walkway to the home’s front porch when the dog, which was tied to a run line, ran around from the back yard and jumped up on her.
“Kappa jumped up on Vanessa and she said, ‘No, get down.’ But he didn’t jump on her aggressively. He was just jumping on her to greet her,” said Flynn, who was inside the home attending to her own 6-month-old baby when the attack happened.
“She said, ‘No, no, get down,’ because she had the baby in her arm. And then she said the next thing she knew Kappa had him and then she screamed for me and that’s when I came out.”
Flynn then corralled the dog, which was still on its run, and took him into the basement. She then called 911 and brought out some towels for Devin, who was still on the porch with his mother and his brother, Anthony, who witnessed the events from under a tree beyond the reach of the dog’s run.
“It was terrible, and we just waited for the ambulance, which seemed to take forever,” Flynn said.
“Devin was crying the whole time, which (emergency responders) said was good so he would remain conscious.”
Devin was taken by ambulance to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where he underwent reconstructive surgery to his face due to deep cuts and punctures from the dog bite.
The dog, named Kappa, since he was the color of cappuccino, was brought that afternoon to Lake Region Animal Hospital, located almost across the street, where he was euthanized. The dog’s head was removed for transport to a state lab so the brain could be tested for rabies in Augusta, added Lt. David DeGruchy of the Windham Police Department.
It was a difficult decision to euthanize the dog, which had never posed a problem previously, Flynn said. The dog would often lie next to Flynn’s 6-month old while the child played. The whole horrific experience has disturbed the family.
“I was more than surprised. I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know what happened. He never did that before and I have no idea what provoked him,” Flynn said. “But Jerry (the boy’s grandfather) and I both decided to put the dog down. It was very difficult, especially for (Jerry), but you know, (Vanessa) does come over quite a bit with the kids and plus we have a 6-month-old baby, so I mean if (Kappa) did it once, I was scared to think he would do it again. So we just didn’t feel comfortable with him around kids.”
The grandfather then spent Monday evening building a memorial for the dog in the back yard, decorating it with five large stones that read “Kappa.” According to Flynn, the family has no plans to get another dog anytime soon.
In the wake of the attack, Adam Irish, the boy’s father who recently moved to Windham from Vermont, issued warnings to other pit bull owners to keep their dogs away from children.
Irish was not available for an interview with the Lakes Region Weekly. Breed experts have since weighed in on the issue, saying socialized pit bulls accustomed to being around children are less of a danger than pit bulls bred for home defense.
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| A memorial to an aggressive dog. I'm sure the child will love coming to Papaw's house and being reminded of the day he was almost killed by Papaw's beloved pit bull. |
When asked about Kappa’s personality, Flynn said the dog was energetic yet socialized.
“We never had him chained up, caged up. And when people would come up to the house he would bark so we would hear when someone was coming over, but still, he would be fine with it,” Flynn said. “He wasn’t aggressive toward anyone and never did anything.”
(Lakes Region Weekly - September 23, 2011)
