Pit bull mauls little boy; neighbors say it's not the dog's fault

TEXAS -- He reportedly went to his neighbors' house to get his little brother and it almost cost him his life. Sheriff's deputies say a pit bull mauled a young boy on his neck, arms and back.

ABC-7 is learning more about Saturday's dog attack in Horizon City. Witnesses said animal services has picked up the dog Monday. Some of those who saw what happened aren't happy the dog had to be punished. They say this little boy was unsupervised when he went into someone else's yard, which was full of big dogs.

 

Neighbors say the pit bull was tied up in this home's backyard.

"I've never had an issue with their dogs," said neighbor Arlyn Duran. "it was an accident, a really bad accident. But again, it wasn't the pit bull's fault."

Duran said she heard screaming on Saturday after the attack.

"The kid was outside and he was holding his face and he was bleeding," Duran said. "I really didn't know what was going on at that time until the neighbor from here was like why are they on my property in the first place."

Neighbors said the little boy went through this gate and walked through the backyard this way to pet the dogs. The owner wasn't home and the parents weren't around. ABC-7 tried to reach out to the family for their perspective on what happened, but no one was home.

["Attractive nuisance is a defense to trespass by children used in tort law. The doctrine of attractive nuisance is premised on the belief that one who maintains a dangerous condition which is likely to attract children on their property is under a duty to post a warning or take affirmative action to protect children from the dangers of that attraction. It imposes a duty to be sensitive to potentially dangerous conditions which are likely to attract children.

"The attractive nuisance doctrine typically doesn't apply to adults. However, if a child is in danger due to an attractive nuisance and an adult attempts to rescue the child, the attractive nuisance doctrine may hold the landowner responsible for the rescuer's injuries in addition to the child's injuries."

>> Animals, like swimming pools, are an "attractive nuisance" to children. There are laws in many states which say people with swimming pools must have locked gates. These owners should have had locked gates to prevent children from innocently entering their property wanting to pet the dog.]

So ABC-7 turned to Betty Hoover, executive director at the El Paso Humane Society.

Betty Hoover, executive director at the El Paso Humane Society

"You know, I worked with dogs for almost 12 years, and I have to say I think they get a bad rap," Hoover said.

Betty, who said she's been bit more by Chihuahuas than pits, noted the shelter's "spokesdog" Shelby is a pit mix, and with a reception room full of strangers, strange dogs and lots of cats, Shelby remains calm.

"Do not play with them rough, put things in their mouth and hit them in the head and stuff like that. That's what I try to teach my kids to do," said Eugene Harrison.

Harrison and his family, own a 100-plus-pound pit bull and were in the process of adopting another.

"They're not really mean," Harrison said.

The Harrison family said they've never had a bad experience with their pits, or were afraid of their dogs hurting anyone else.

"It's tragic what happened to that little boy," Hoover said, "but there's basic rules of dog bit prevention also. The first one is never ever approach a strange dog without the human or without the owner being there. And also ask permission. Never approach a dog that is chained up because a dog that is chained is more likely to bite. Never go into a yard where there's dogs without being supervised."

Sheriff's deputies said the boy was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Neighbors said the boy is breathing with the help of a tube and is doing better.

As for the dog, ABC-7 was unable to reach animal services to confirm whether it was put down.

(KVIA El Paso - ‎May 26, 2014‎)