GEORGIA -- A 13 year old Albany girl says she is scared to go into her own backyard, after a pit bull attacked her there Tuesday. The teen suffered only minor wounds-- because her father was right there to pull the dog off her.
Animal Control officers did not immediately seize the dog. The girl's father says that shows there's a problem with how the city handles potentially dangerous dogs.
John Miller said he thinks Albany City Leaders need to toughen up rules on dangerous dog owners, especially when the dog bites people. Miller said he was troubled when the dog that bit his daughter was left next door overnight.
Caragen Miller admits she is scared to come back into her back yard, after the next door neighbors pit bull bit her last evening. "I was just glad that the dog didn't get me any worse. Because it could have been a lot worse," she said.
Caragen has a bite mark and bruising on her left ankle, where the medium brown pit bull Hazel, bit her. John Miller saw the dog climb its six-foot-high fence pen, and then jump the fence into his backyard, and attack his two daughters.
John Miller said "They were jumping on the trampoline and the dog came over."
"The dog went underneath the trampoline and started trying to bite at my feet. And I tried to get off, but when I tried to get off, it bit me and I fell back," Caragen said.
"I just happened to be out here and grabbed the dog and got him away from her," John Miller said
Miller put the dog back in it's pen, and called police, who watched the dog climb out of its pen again.
The dog owner, Karen Lawrence, then locked it in a shed, where Miller says animal control told him they would leave it until it was quarantined this morning, because they don't have anywhere to quarantine it at night.
This morning an Animal Control officer escorted Lawrence's son quarantine the dog. But Miller thinks city and county leaders need to close that gap. "For them to leave the dogs here overnight or over a weekend because the dog catchers are off at the time, is not a good idea. It could have allowed for someone else to be attacked."
Miller said he hopes city leaders toughen up regulations on big dogs to protect children like Caragen.
"I didn't know if the dog had rabies or something. I was scared." And no child should be afraid to play in their own yard," said Caragen.
John Miller said he has put that pit bull back in its cage three or four times before, when it came into his yard, but it never was aggressive, until last night. Caragen was treated at the hospital for her bite, and is recovering.
Karen Lawrence was cited with animal at large and no valid tag violates. Miller said she was very apologetic about the attack. She has a court date February 13th.
(WALB - Feb 1, 2012)
