On Monday afternoon, Kiya West, no relation to the dog owner, went into Brinda West's gated back yard next door to retrieve a ball. The dog attacked.
Kiya West's mother, Javanaa Patton, tried to pull the dog off, and Brinda West fired gunshots, also in efforts to remove the dog from the child. Deuce eventually let go, but only after causing a huge gash in Kiya's inner thigh, and more.
"Five to six puncture wounds in her chest and stomach area, also in her hand," said Patton, adding that her daughter will have skin graft surgery later this week.
Pit bulls are a polarizing topic for Mississippi News Now viewers. We sat down with a lawyer to find out what a dog owner's rights would be in a case like this. Johnny Givens with Porter & Malouf in Ridgeland says, hypothetically, when someone enters someone else's property they're trespassing, and a dog's purpose is often to guard property.
"You also have in Mississippi what's generally referred to as, you get one bite free. The dog has to have previously shown some type of aggressive behavior toward an individual. On top of that, you have to show that the dog owner knew or should have known of that before you can impose liability on the owner of the dogs," Givens says.
Brinda West explains Deuce has never attacked before.
The story of Deuce facing euthanization has sparked an online frenzy to save the dog's life. A petition was created online by a reader of the story and has gained nearly 200 signatures as of Thursday morning.
One Mississippi resident who signed the petition in support of allowing Deuce to live voiced that the dog was likely simply protecting his own family.
"Deuce doesn't need to be put down for doing what I am sure what the owner got him for not only for a family pet, but for protection," writes the supporter.
In addition, a Save Deuce Facebook group has been created in efforts to find Deuce a new home rather than have him put down. The group has 306 members as of Thursday morning.
Many of the supporters hoping to spare the dog's life have reached out to the Villalobos Rescue Center, known for its reality television show Pit bulls & Parolees, in New Orleans. The center responded on its Facebook page stating:
"In regards to the Jackson, MS dog Deuce. We are getting bombarded with phone calls, emails and posts. We DO NOT take dogs with a bite history ESPECIALLY a child. This would be a huge liability for us to take on and we could and would NEVER adopt out a dog knowing that he bit someone ESPECIALLY a child. And if you saw her bite wounds, that was no "nip". He BIT HER AND GOOD. I can't say for sure what happened as I don't know all the real facts. But this is not a dog that we would consider taking in for adoption purposes."
[Well, I actually have a bit more respect them for having made this statement.]
Kiya West's family has not indicated they plan to pursue the matter any further. In fact, Patton says the family owned a pit bull puppy themselves, but gave it up the day Kiya was attacked.
"I am devastated about the whole situation, because it's just a hard thing, having to get the dog up off of my daughter, and I am trying to deal with it," said Patton. "She has a golf ball size hole in her inner thigh. And she also was punctured in the stomach, and in her chest and in the hand."
According to Officer Colendula Green with Jackson Police, the dog was taken to the City of Jackson Animal Shelter.
Patton said she was told by the City of Jackson that the dog will be kept alive for 10 days so proper testing for rabies can be done.
(WLOX - July 11, 2013)
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