Boy, 5, is bitten in the head by his grandmother’s pit bull mix

NEW YORK -- A five-year-old boy was taken by ambulance to Women and Children’s Hospital after he was bitten by an aggressive 85-pound pit bull/labrador retriever mix named Buttercup at 8:30 a.m. today inside an apartment building in the 6500 block of Dysinger Road.

The boy’s grandmother, Louise Daugherty, 41, said she was with her grandson, Randall Pietkiewicz when he was attacked.

Daugherty told Niagara County sheriff’s deputies that her grandson was walking down the hallway towards her second dog, a Boston terrier mix, when Buttercup became aggressive and charged Randall from the living room into the hallway, knocking the boy to the ground.

Once on the ground Buttercup bit Randall a number of times on his scalp, behind his right ear and on the back of his head, causing four lacerations on his head. Daughtery’s boyfriend Brian E. Kelley, 41, was able to pull the dog off the boy. He then secured the dog in a bedroom.

The boy was taken by ambulance with his mother, Michelle Daughtery, 23, to Women and Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. The extent of the boy’s injuries are unknown.

Dog Control Officer Barry Kobrin arrived and helped Kelley to place a muzzle on the dog, which remains secured at the apartment.

Two of Michelle Daughtery’s other children, one six months old and another 15 months old , were removed until their grandmother can make arrangements to remove the dog permanently.

Undersheriff Michael Filicetti said no charges have been filed. He said a course of action regarding the dog would be determined by Kobrin, who has notified the Niagara County Department of Health to determine any further action.

Deputies who interviewed Kelley after the attack learned that Buttercup had reportedly bitten another young child in the face in July 2012.

(Buffalo News - Sept 11, 2013)