Both people have been charged with subsequent dog bites, liability of owner stemming from the incident that occurred on July 25, 2015.
Prosecutors have requested a $30,000 bond for each defendant.
EDITOR’S NOTE, 11:27 a.m., July 27: Readers will note we have made a number of updates to this story. We have organized the information in a way we believe most accurately reflects what happened. As more information becomes available, we will continue to update this report.
ORIGINAL STORY |
What happened on Saturday?
Around 2 p.m., according to Shannon and Brett Cottrell, a dog attacked an 18-month-old child inside their home on the 1100 block of West Elm Street in Greenwood, Mo. Police have confirmed this account.
What happened to the child?
Greenwood police officers and emergency personnel responded to the home at 2:07 p.m. The child was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, but was in stable condition, according to Greenwood police. The child had surgery and was expected to be OK.
The child and the child's mother were visiting the Cottrell home when the attack occurred. The Cottrells said the child was playing in another room of their home, along with Cottrell's 14-year-old daughter, at the time of the attack. Shannon Cottrell said she had to physically pry the dog loose from the toddler.
What happened to the dog?
At 4:23 p.m. on Saturday, Greenwood police sent a tweet mentioning the attack, and they described the dog as "possibly a Pit Bull." A few minutes later, a tweet from the same account warned parents about letting their children play outside and to not "approach a dog fitting the description."
On Monday, Lt. Aaron Fordham of the Greenwood Police Department told 41 Action News the dog was a pit bull, citing their interview with the Cottrells.
At 1:31 p.m. on Sunday, Greenwood police tweeted they were still searching for the dog.
They said Monday morning that their report had been completed and forwarded to the prosecutor. 41 Action News has requested that report, but police said it was not ready for public release. It is expected to be released on Tuesday.
In an off-camera interview Sunday evening with 41 Action News with a Greenwood police officer in attendance, the Cottrells said they had given the dog to a family member shortly after the attack.
NO, NO, NO. THEY'RE PLAYING DUMB AND MINIMIZING WHAT THEY DID.
AFTER THIS BABY WAS MAULED AND SCALPED BY THEIR DOG, THEY DIDN'T TAKE THE DOG TO THE SHELTER. THEY DIDN'T CALL ANIMAL CONTROL TO COME AND GET THE DOG. INSTEAD, THEY LOADED THEIR DOG INTO THEIR VEHICLE AND DROVE OFF WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE WHERE THE DOG WAS. BECAUSE THE DOG HAD ALREADY BITTEN A GIRL A YEAR EARLIER AND ANIMAL CONTROL HAD RESPONDED TO QUARANTINE THE DOG, THEY KNEW THAT THE DOG NEEDED TO BE QUARANTINED.
THEY ALSO KNEW THEY HAD A COURT-DECLARED VICIOUS DOG THAT HAD ATTACKED AGAIN AND KNEW THEY WERE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE. SO THEY LOADED THE DOG UP IN THEIR CAR AND HID IT. THEN WHEN POLICE AND ANIMAL CONTROL SHOWED UP, THEY CLAIMED NOT TO KNOW WHERE THE DOG WAS.
They said that family member had the dog euthanized, and the dog's head had been sent to Jefferson City for rabies and other testing in accordance with Missouri state law. The family produced a receipt stating the dog had been euthanized. Lt. Aaron Fordham of the Greenwood Police Department also confirmed this information on Monday morning.
AGAIN, NO. THEY HID THIS VICIOUS DOG WITH A RELATIVE WHO WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO BREAK THE LAW AND HIDE THE DOG... UNTIL POLICE THREATENED SHANNON COTTRELL AND BRENT COTTRELL WITH JAIL UNLESS THEY TOLD THEM WHERE THE DOG WAS. THEN THE COTTRELLS CALLED THIS UNNAMED FAMILY MEMBER AND TOLD THEM TO TAKE THE DOG TO THE VET AND HAVE IT PUT DOWN. ONLY THEN DID THEY TELL THE POLICE WHERE THE DOG WAS AT.
IF THE POLICE HADN'T DONE SUCH A GOOD JOB AT INVESTIGATING THIS AND PUSHING FOR THE COTTRELLS TO TELL THEM WHERE THE DOG WAS, THEY WOULD HAVE NEVER WILLINGLY PUT THE DOG DOWN IN MY OPINION.
The Cottrells said the dog never left the property, and that they have a privacy fence installed.
On Monday morning, Lt. Fordham told 41 Action News that mixed reports on Saturday led them to believe the dog had been loose on the streets. That information was confirmed to 41 Action News in a message from Greenwood Mayor Marvin Magee.
UPDATE, 4 p.m., July 28: According to the Lee's Summit Police Department, the dog that bit the toddler on Saturday is the same dog that bit a person in Lee's Summit in October 2014.
As you see in the photo below, the victim and her mother refused to cooperate with authorities who seemed to be wanting to try to get the dog euthanized. Without willing witnesses, they did the next best thing which was to get the dog deemed vicious, but it let the dog stay with the Cottrells.
The dog was subsequently deemed "dangerous," and the owner was issued a citation for a public nuisance animal. That case is currently pending with a court date scheduled in August 2015.
What happened during the investigation?
Magee told neighborhood residents on Saturday that Shannon and Brett Cottrell had been arrested on Saturday for obstruction of justice. The Cottrells confirmed this arrest on Sunday night.
Magee told 41 Action News on Monday morning that during their initial investigation, police were led to believe the dog was roaming the streets.
UPDATE, 4:49 p.m., July 27: Greenwood police confirmed in a news release that their officers were led to believe the bitten child was outside when the dog attacked.
They later figured out the dog was a pet of the Cottrell family and that the attack had occurred inside the home.
They said the dog was hidden from police, and that they were led to believe the dog was taken from the home, and the dog's location was withheld from police.
Police said neighbors gave a description of the dog, as well as from others in the case. Eventually, the owners provided the same information.
"It was later discovered that description of the dog was consistent with one or more dogs that lived at the residence where the child was mauled," Magee wrote in his statement to 41 Action News.
Police tried to speak to the Cottrells about this, Magee said, but the pair refused to speak to police. After several attempts to get more information, Magee said, police arrested the pair.
41 Action News initially reported Sunday night that the dog owners’ daughter had been removed from the home by state officials, as per an interview with the Cottrell family. The family said Monday that detail is not true, and 41 Action News has been unable to get further clarification from authorities.
UPDATE, 4:49 p.m., July 27: In their news release, police said criminal charges were pending. "The possible charges allege concealing evidence, assault, and possibly additional charges."
UPDATE, 10:09 a.m., July 29: Shannon Cottrell, an owner of the Greenwood dog that attacked a toddler, was arrested Tuesday. Cottrell was arrested Tuesday night and her bond was revoked in the previous charge of animal nuisance from October of last year in Lee's Summit.
Police say Cottrell illegally moved the dog from Lee's Summit to Greenwood after the dog was deemed dangerous last year in a separate attack. Police say she bonded out.
(Fox4KC - Aug 1, 2015)
Earlier:
- Missouri: Baby scalped by pit bull in horrific attack at owner's house. With no concern about the baby, the owner fled with the dog and has hidden it, say police.
- Missouri: After attacking a teenager last year, Shannon Cottrell's Pit Bull mix was deemed dangerous. She knowingly endangered a 17-month-old baby by bringing him into her home where the dog was. The dog attacked the baby, scalping him.
