New York: "Shelter lied about 'timid' pit bull before it bit my kids"

NEW YORK -- Officials at a Queens animal-rescue organization hid a pit bull’s menacing history from a New Jersey man who wanted to adopt it — and the dog ended up attacking his two young children, the distraught dad told The Post.

One-year-old Melo suddenly locked his jaws onto Quin Martin’s daughter’s leg and nearly tore his son’s nose off just a day after they brought him to their Hampton home, he said.

Martin said that Second Chance Rescue of White­stone minimized Melo’s aggressive traits before handing him over on May 14 — despite a report from the Brooklyn Animal Control Center that advised against placing him with kids.

“All they told me was he was timid,” Martin said of Second Chance. “He wasn’t timid. Not even close.”

Melo suddenly became enraged and bit Jade, 9, on the leg while she sat on a swing in the family’s back yard, Martin said.

Her courageous brother, Justin, 13, nearly lost his nose off after he pried Melo’s jaws from her flesh.

Martin said both kids were rushed by ambulance to a hospital, where Justin needed five stitches to his face and Jade’s gnawed leg was patched up.

The dog was put down.

“My son was the hero in this,” Martin said.

The pit bull first landed in Brooklyn ACC custody in April after his owner was evicted and could no longer care for him.

An April 22 assessment by an ACC volunteer advised against placing him in a home with kids, saying, “When approached in his kennel, Melo freezes in the back of the kennel, hard stares and lip curls, low growls, and then charges the front of the kennel while hard barking.”

But a May 6 ACC report claims a remarkable turnaround from Cujo to cuddly.

“It seemed Melo had finally acclimated and was letting his guard down — revealing the sweet, playful affectionate boy I knew was always there!” the report says.

Martin claimed that assessment was relayed to him by Second Chance Rescue officials while Melo’s troubling past was omitted.

In a Facebook post, the rescue group suggests the family blew off its adoption instructions: “Many of the returns we get are because introductions were not done properly or rushed.”

But Martin said, “I’m an experienced dog owner.’’

Second Chance did not return a call for comment.

(New York Post - May 26, 2014)