Toddler attacked by pit bull in Hinds County

MISSISSIPPI -- Another attack on a child by a pit bull — central Mississippi's fourth this year — hospitalized a 16-month-old Wednesday night.

The name and condition of the boy have not been released by the Hinds County Sheriff's Department, and calls to spokesman Othor Cain were not returned Thursday.

Cain told other media outlets the child, who lives outside Raymond, received seven stitches on the left side of his head.

The child was taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center shortly after the Wednesday night attack.

No charges have been filed, though Hinds County is one of 18 counties and municipalities in the state that restrict pit bull ownership unless officials grant a variance. Eleven other Mississippi cities and counties ban the breed completely.

The animal, a family pet, is currently being held at the Mississippi Animal Rescue League, the shelter's director, Debra Boswell, said.

"The dog was transported to our agency last night after the attack," Boswell said Thursday, adding she hadn't heard the full story about what happened to cause the animal to bite the child.

"The dog will be with us until we get further instructions from the sheriff's department," she said.
MARL has a contract with the department, taking in animals accused of attacks while the incidents are investigated.

In June, a 5-year-old Jackson child was bitten several times by a pit bull in his neighborhood. And on April 9, Victoria Wilcher, 4, a child who recently made national headlines after reportedly being turned away from a Jackson KFC because of her scars, was mauled by three pit bulls at her grandfather's home in Simpson County.

Two of the three dogs that attacked Victoria were killed by her grandfather, who had 10 pit bulls in his backyard at the time.

The remaining eight were taken to MARL, which does not adopt out pit bulls because of liability issues.

On March 31, Christopher Malone, 3, was killed when two pit bulls attacked him in Holmes County.

Boswell said after the April attack that MARL takes in 500 pit bulls or pit bull mixes per year out of the incoming 13,000 cats and dogs. She said it's a tough responsibility for the shelter because of the placement issue and the risk of releasing a pit bull into a miserable environment.

"It's not that pit bulls bite more than other dogs," Boswell had said. "The chance for fatalities or serious injuries" is higher with that type of breed, commonly raised by dogfighting owners to be territorial and aggressive.

(Clarion Ledger - June 27, 2014)