Verna Cooper faced up to 10 years in prison for her August conviction of felony attack by dog.
Her pit bull mix, Maya, got out in 2011 and attacked then 11-year-old Grycen Aills who was riding her bike with her dad.
"She's screaming ‘daddy' and in pain and I look and the dog's got a hold of her and moving his head back and forth to try to tear the leg off," said Peter Aills.
Cooper blamed the attack on a realtor who left a door open during an open house, but it was Maya's second attack. Two years before, the pit mix and another one of Cooper's dogs attacked a jogger.
After the first attack, Cooper was ordered to register the dogs as dangerous and carry $100,000 worth of liability insurance.
Cooper walked out of the courtroom covering her face with a vanilla folder. She did give the media the a written statement:
"My sympathy is with the dog bite victim that was bitten by my beloved pit bull mix, Maya. The truth in this case has never been told to the public. Maya escaped the day of the bite through a back garage door that was opened by a real estate agent...She was fully aware of the nature of the dog. The day of the bite she arrived to the open house late. She opened one and only one door that was never used. Then she left the open house early, not securing the door she opened, nor did she tell anyone she had opened the door. To this day, she refuses to take responsibility for her actions. My required liability insurance that was still in effect the day of the bite has reached a settlement with the victim's family."
The pit bull has since been put down.
Judge Clif Brown ordered Cooper to have no contact with the victim, and she can't own animals, with the exception of a goldfish and tortoise.
(WBRC - Nov 6, 2012)
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