MICHIGAN -- Two pit bulls are in the custody of animal control after they attacked a small dog and its owner over the weekend, police said.
The pit bulls will remain under quarantine for at least 10 days after the attack about 4:45 p.m. Saturday on the 200 block of Carr Street in Pontiac, Sgt. Chad Allan of the Oakland County Sheriff's Office said Sunday.
A woman and her small dog were in her front yard when the dogs charged them, Allan said. The woman scooped up her dog and began running, but fell and dropped her pet. That is when the two pit bulls attacked the owner and dog, causing serious injuries to both.
Neighbors heard the commotion and came after the dogs with a shovel and a stick. The woman was treated for a dog bite to one of her hands.
The condition of her dog was not known Sunday, though its injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, authorities said.
Oakland County Animal Control officials took custody of the dogs, whose owner lives on the 500 block of Linda Vista Drive.
They will remain in animal control care for a rabies quarantine period. Police on Sunday had no indication whether the injured woman would seek a court order to have the dogs euthanized.
Pit bull ownership is banned in at least a dozen cities throughout Michigan and is restricted in a few others. At least 10 other Michigan municipalities have declared the breed dangerous or vicious.
Pontiac does not ban pit bulls.
State Rep. Tim Bledsoe, D-Grosse Pointe, tried but failed over the summer for a state ban of American pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers and dogs with one or more traits of those breeds, though the House Regulatory Reform Committee refused to take up the bill. The committee's chairman said the state does not need to be in the business of policing dogs.
(Detroit News - March 12, 2012)
