The child was playing with an 8-year-old neighbor at about 7 p.m. Wednesday when the dog attacked, and he suffered severe bites to his head, face and neck, said Oakland County Undersheriff Mike McCabe. The 8-year-old was bitten on his hands while trying to pull the dog off the toddler.
“The parents heard the boys screaming and were able to get the dog off the child and took the child into the house,” McCabe said in a statement.
The toddler was first taken to McLaren Oakland and then transferred to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. He has numerous lacerations, must undergo multiple surgeries and could lose his left eye, McCabe said.
The 1-year-old pit bull terrier involved in the attack is in custody at Oakland County Animal Control and has been given up by its owners, said Administrative Supervisor Sgt. Joanie Toole. The dog will be euthanized after a 10-day quarantine period, she said.
McCabe said the dog had its vaccinations.
Tom Casbar, who lives across from the house on Melrose Street north of University Drive where the attack occurred, said he sold the pit bull to his neighbor for $50 in cash earlier this month.
"It’s a red-and-blue-nosed pit,” said Casbar, 53, who said he’s shocked by the attack.
“It never growled at me. Not a thing. It was a friendly dog.”
Casbar said he got the dog from a coworker and had it four days before selling it to his neighbor.
“Now this all goes down last night (at) about 7 p.m. Oh, my lord.”
He was on the phone Wednesday night when the attack happened and saw flashing lights as first responders arrived.
“I saw the deputies put the dog in the car.”
The dog had been tied to a tree, on a long lead, in the backyard of the Melrose Street home, according to the undersheriff.
The attack comes less than three months after a string of attacks in Pontiac by two German shepherds that left two women with serious leg injuries.
(The Macomb Daily - Apr 25, 2014)
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