KENTUCKY -- A Frankfort man faces three charges after his pit bull bit a mailman June 28, causing “extreme and gruesome” wounds, says a local prosecutor.
David Noel, of 214 Swigert Ave., is charged with harboring a vicious animal – a city animal control ordinance, County Attorney Rick Sparks says. Noel’s brown pit bull, Bullasan, bit mailman Chris Lombardi on the arm and leg as he attempted to leave the property after delivering the family’s mail.
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| Mailman Chris Lombardi continues to recover from being attacked by a pit bull June 28. |
Noel is also charged with failure to produce documentation of rabies vaccination and failure to have rabies tags.
A woman, who did not provide The State Journal with her name, said from the doorway of the Swigert Avenue home on the day of the attack that the dog is usually held in the back yard by a fence but a family friend left the gate open. She said the dog was protecting his family.
“It was a bad situation, and there was nothing the mailman did to cause the attack,” Sparks said. “He was walking to the mailbox like mailmen do and deserve to do to complete their jobs.”
The dog ripped a large area of skin from his forearm and there were multiple bite marks around Lombardi’s wrist and leg, Maj. Fred Deaton said after the attack.
Frankfort Postmaster John Dampier says Lombardi is recovering slowly, and it will be several weeks before he is back on the job.
“We still don’t know – when he comes back – what kind of restrictions he’ll have,” Dampier said.
Frankfort animal control confiscated Bullasan, and he is at Franklin County Humane Society in quarantine, Sparks said.
Neighbors at the scene said this is the second time the dog has bit someone, but the first bite occurred several years ago and wasn’t as severe, Deaton said
The pit bull has lived with its owners for seven years and is around children often, the woman at the house told The State Journal.
Noel could not be reached for comment. No date has been set for his court appearance.
The pit bull has lived with its owners for seven years and is around children often, the woman at the house told The State Journal.
Noel could not be reached for comment. No date has been set for his court appearance.
(The State Journal - July 5, 2012)
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