Thirteen year old Ely Johnson walked us through his best friend's back yard in Stonewall, Louisiana, where just 3-days earlier, on Monday (6/24) afternoon, he got too close to the tree, where a 1-year old pit bull named 'Boy' was chained up.
"He come a little bit further, he barely got me and I freaked out and I pushed him off me and I was feeling around my throat and I felt the blood and I looked down and I saw the, I saw the gash and stuff," recalled Johnson.
When Ely looked down he saw entire chunks of his right arm gone in the dog attack - in the blink of an eye. The teenager was rushed to LSU Hospital in Shreveport where doctors used more than 300-stiches to close up the wounds.
The dog's owner, Chris Shaw says he signed over 'Boy' to DeSoto Parish Animal Control, which euthanized the animal and sent it away for rabies testing. Shaw added, "I'm sorry he got bit. He's 13. He knew better. He put himself in that situation himself."
Shaw says his son and Ely had been warned not to play in the backyard because of the dog, but did so anyway. During our visit to Stonewall, Ely's father and Shaw came face to face, where they began to argue about a previous episode with the very same pit bull a few months ago that involved Ely's other brother:
CHRIS SHAW/DOG OWNER: "He didn't get bit. he got scratched"
KENNETH JOHNSON/ELY'S FATHER: "He got, the dog lunged at his face and he moved away from him."
CHRIS SHAW: "No, he didn't. my dog's never lunged at any kid!"
KENNETH JOHNSON: "Whatever."
CHRIS SHAW: "I'm not going to argue about it."
KENNETH JOHNSON: "You're right."
CHRIS SHAW: "My dog was on a cable."
KENNETH JOHNSON: "I don't want to do this here. Get on (the motorcycle)." (saying to son)
CHRIS SHAW: "...when your kids have gone into his area."
Ely's father, Kenneth Johnson rode off on his motorcycle, ending the argument between two fathers who see the dog attack and previous episodes much differently.
One of Shaw's neighbors, Sandra Barmore, says she also feared the dog. "I wasn't going to go near the dog because I knew he would attack. I know he would attack you."
DeSoto Parish Animal Control Officer Harold Renfro says the pit bull named 'Boy' tested negative for rabies. And Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle says since the dog was on a leash on the owner's property, the owner will not be cited in the attack.
By state law, a dog, cat or ferret that has bitten someone must be tested for rabies, which requires euthanasia, or quarantined until the owner can appeal to have it returned to them.
In this case, Boy's owner allowed the dog to be put down.
(KSLA - June 28, 2013)
