But a relative of the dog's owner insisted this evening the dog was just being playful.
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| The victim speaks to police after being bitten by the dog that owners say "was just being playful" |
Officers were called to Wegman Parkway near Van Cleef Street around 1:35 p.m. on a disturbance complaint involving three pit bulls, Police Lt. Edgar Martinez said.
As police were arriving, three unleashed pit bulls charged at the woman and her young child and one of the dogs bit the woman on her arm, Martinez said.
A police officer fired multiple shots at the dog that bit the woman and the animal collapsed in the driveway of an apartment building, Martinez said.
Jersey City Animal Control and Emergency Services Unit officers responded to the scene and secured the other two dogs, which were unharmed, reports said.
The woman was treated at the Jersey City Medical Center for the bite to her arm and the child was also taken for observation after being traumatized by the incident, Martinez said.
The police officer was also treated for post-traumatic stress after the shooting, Martinez said.
Martha Rush, whose nephew owns the dogs, told The Jersey Journal that she was moving the dogs from the backyard of her home to the garage in the front when the dogs got loose.
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| Martha Rush says she told the bite victim that the dogs "ain't going to bite you" |
Rush said the dogs meant no harm to the woman who police say got bit, but the woman panicked and screamed and that further excited the dogs.
"They were playing but she had no idea they were playing," Rush said. "I kept telling her, they ain't going to bite you."
Rush said a police officer arrived, fired a couple of warning shots in the air and then fired at the male dog, Simba, several times. Neighbors said around five or six shots were fired.
Rush said she did not see the dog bite the woman.
Rush and another relative brought the two other female dogs, Nicky and Free, into the house, they said.
"The dogs were no problem at all, they were only barking," said Fakher Fahmy, owner of a neighboring property. "I feel sorry for the dogs."
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| Fakher Fahmy says the dogs were only barking, clearly ignorant of the fact that the dog bit the woman. |
Family members said they are distraught about Simba's death.
"That was our family dog," said Ty'Jahnal Rush, 12, a cousin of the owner. "He was a good dog to us ever since we got him. He played with us. He never bit us."
(nj.com - July 29, 2012)
