"A whole chunk of his lip was gone," said grandmother LaDonna Musick.
While at his father's home, Brandon was bitten by a pit bull owned by relatives, requiring 21 stitches and the services of a special surgeon because of damage to a nerve.
"It was a pit bull," said Musick. "I've got six grandkids and none of them will go never a pit bull, ever."
Lafayette Animal Control Supervisor Randy Hale issued a dangerous animal agreement with the dog's owner, meaning the dog will be seized if it bites another person or is caught running loose.
"We're doing what we can do right now in the situation," Hale said. "You got one bad mark against you, you get one more."
But it's not enough Musick.
"I've had my dog 12 years," she said. "If it had been my dog, he bit a kid, he wouldn't be here today."
But Hale said the incident did not rise to the level requiring immediate seizure of the dog.
"No, I've seen worse," Hale said. "I didn't see any reason to seize the dog at this point."
Hale added the situation would have been different if Brandon's injuries had been worse or the dog had been running loose and attacked a stranger. But as city code currently stands, the dog's owner has rights too.
"Right now, it's the best thing we got, rather than seizing every dog that bites," Hale said. "The shelter would be overrun pretty severely if we did that."
But as more medicine is applied to Brandon's lip to keep the stitches from drying out Monday, it's not enough for his grandmother.
"My concerns are this dog is going to hurt someone else, some other kid or an adult, anybody," Musick said.
A message left with the dog's owner was not returned.
Hale said, although it's not required, the owner has told him she would be taking the dog to a different property outside of city limits to make sure there isn't a repeat incident.
(WLFI - August 28, 2012)
