Becerra underwent surgery at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno Tuesday and is expected to recover. Family members said the attack happened after the boy's older brother opened a sliding glass door and the dog ran into the home's living room and headed straight toward Adrian.
"He started charging at my brother. When I heard him screaming... that's when we all ran over, trying to get the dog off of him," said Adrian's sister, Lupe Becerra.
Lupe Becerra says Smokey attacked their 6-year-old sister just a few months ago, so she knew how to react when she heard her little brother screaming.
"I started hitting the dog with my hand because I didn't have time to grab anything because he was already on top of my brother. So I just started hitting him with my fist," said Becerra.
The family said the dog's name is Smokey and they got him as a puppy about a year ago. They told Action News they never thought he would be capable of such a vicious attack.
"I had never seen that side of him. He was always a kind dog who loves to have fun. I had never seen him like that," said Adrian's brother Jose Becerra.
Deputies said the dog was still showing signs of aggression when he was turned over to animal control officers.
"A deputy told me if the dog had actually broken the snare, it was showing so much aggression, that if it had broken the snare he would have been forced to put it down," said Merced County Sheriff's Department spokesperson Tom MacKenzie.
Smokey is now being tested for rabies and will then be euthanized. Lupe Becerra said it's what the dog deserves. Though considered Smokey a pet, she no longer thinks pit bulls should be around children.
"You could say, 'Yeah, my pit bull is nice', but you never know if he could attack your son, your kid, or other kids," said Lupe Becerra.
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| Despite having already attacked their little sister, the older siblings insist they never thought "Smokey" would do this(!) |
The Merced County Sheriff's Department said charges won't be filed because there were no signs of neglect and the dog didn't have a history of aggressive behavior.
[Um, I would argue otherwise that the parent is negligent because she had prior knowledge of the propensity of the dog to bite/attack the children -- and she let it happen again. The dog attacked the six year-old a few months ago (her sister says in the video that the dog bit her on the stomach and the arm -- that, to me, is an attack). Did Child Protective Services investigate to ensure that the children were not living with a vicious dog?
Where I live, all bites involving children are reported to children's services and a case worker is supposed to investigate (even if it's just a phone call) to find out the type of dog, size, ages of children in household, the circumstances of the bite, how serious it was, how many animals are in the household, and what preventative measures the parent/owner is taking to ensure it never happens again. This should have been done.]
(KFSN - November 08, 2011)
