PENNSYLVANIA -- The owner of the pit bull that mauled a 7-year-old Penn Township boy last week has been cited in the attack.
A state dog law officer cited Wendy Tshudy, of Parkside Drive near Manheim, with not properly confining her dog, according to Samantha Krepps, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
The summary offense could result in a fine of $100 to $500, she said.
A message on Tshudy's cellphone Thursday said she was not accepting calls.
The boy who was attacked, Bryce Houser, was released from Hershey Medical Center on Tuesday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
"He's doing well," Bryce's father, Matthew Houser, said on Thursday.
He said Bryce is home and will have another surgery in the next few weeks.
He will likely not return to school until after that surgery, his father said.
Houser said he was not happy that Tshudy was cited.
"I feel bad she's being cited," he said. "For 12 years, she's been a friend of the family. She loves Bryce like a son."
Northern Lancaster County Regional police said the attack occurred around 5 p.m. on April 4 outside Tshudy's home, which is in Houser's neighborhood.
The dog apparently ran out of Tshudy's home to the boy and seriously injured him, police said.
Bryce suffered massive trauma to his upper left arm, his father said. His hand is fully functional, but doctors are unsure if he will ever regain full mobility of his left arm.
Tshudy adopted the 3-year-old dog from the Humane League of Lancaster County on Feb. 11 after it had passed a behavior assessment test, according to the Humane League.
The dog's original owner had surrendered the animal to the shelter five days earlier.
The dog was euthanized after the attack, the Humane League reported.
(Lancaster Online - April 12, 2012)
