Philadelphia man says attack on daughter introduced him to dangerous world of pit bulls

PENNSYLVANIA -- Bill Johnson said he knew the family had dogs, but he had no idea it had a pit bull when he dropped his 10-year-old daughter off at her friend's house in Philadelphia on Dec. 7, 2012.

About 90 minutes later, Johnson said he was on his way back over to the house because his daughter, Adara, had been bitten in the face by the same pit bull.

Johnson pulled up, parked behind the ambulance, and he said the first paramedic he met told him Adara had been bitten by the dog and would need a few stitches.

When the paramedics brought Adara out, her head was covered, and Johnson said he hopped in his car and followed the ambulance to the nearest hospital.

The first time Johnson said he saw his daughter's face was in the emergency room. Her whole face had been mauled, and it had been torn from her ear to the corner of her lip, he said. 

After Adara had been cleaned up and given pain medicine, Johnson said the plastic surgeon on call at the hospital told him her wounds were beyond his capabilities. That's when the head plastic surgeon was called and Bill said they were told to take Adara to his office, which he could get to quicker.

After Adara was taken to the doctor's office and was stitched up, Johnson said he asked the doctor how many stitches she received.

"He said to me that night, 'too many to count.'" Johnson said. "It was about 75 stitches. And she does have a future scar-reduction surgery."

Johnson said the attack was unprovoked. And while the owners said the dog was euthanized, he said he has seen no documentation proving it. Johnson also said he is suing the owners of the pit bull that attacked his daughter.

Since the attack, Johnson said Adara is doing well emotionally.

But she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder when she encounters larger dogs, he said. And Johnson said that anxiety extends to his wife, Renee, and Adara's younger brother, who saw what the dog did to his sister's face.

Johnson never has liked pit bulls, but that was always just a personal preference. Prior to the attack on his daughter, he said never knew how dangerous the breed was.

Then, he said he started paying attention, and saw the extent of the problems they caused.

"Just five days after Adara was attacked, Savannah Edwards was killed [by a pit bull] in Texas," Johnson said. "I personally don't hate pit bulls. It's not a pit bull's fault. They are just acting out on what they were bred to do. I just don't think they belong in homes with children. They're not normal dogs and they shouldn't be treated as normal dogs."

(The Patriot-News - July 7, 2014)