Deadly pit bull attack: Breed can be risky because it won't let go, dog warden says

NEW YORK -- The dog control officer who responded to the Oneida County household where an 11-month-old boy was mauled to death by the family's pit bull says what happened "is an awful, awful situation."

Susan Gardinier, the Verona dog control officer, said she was called to town of Marshall house after the attack to retrieve the pit bull because the town of Marshall dog warden didn't want to deal with the dangerous dog. Oneida County sheriff's deputies confirmed that.

The Marshall dog warden couldn't be reached for comment.

Gardinier said the dog was contained upstairs when she arrived. "He barked and jumped around a bit, but that was it and I was able to remove him from the house,'' she said.

Yes, the target had been killed. Of course, the dog is now back to being a nice dog.

She has the dog contained at her own personal kennel.

The 2-year-old pit bull named Diesel was in the family's living room about 7:15 p.m. Sunday playing with Lisa M. Cittadino's three daughters ages 7, 10 and 12 when Diesel turned on the child, deputies said. Cittadino, 32, toid police she turned her back momentarily and heard screams from her son and daughters.

Police said the child was near the dog's food dish, which may have caused the dog to attack.

Gardinier did say that pit bulls are more dangerous than other breeds because they are hard to stop once they have started to attack.

"The thing about pit bulls is if things go wrong, they go very, very wrong,'' she said. "If one attacks, it's very hard to get them to stop. They are bred to latch on, to hang on, and that's what they do.

"It's very difficult to get them to release whatever they've latched onto, much more so than say with a German shepherd,'' she said.

Children are especially vulnerable because they are at eye level with a pit bull, leaving the child's face right at the dog's mouth, Gardinier said.

Generally, Gardinier said she doesn't recommend pit bulls as pets for families with young children, although it does depend on the dog, she said.

"As a general rule, I'd recommend families get a golden retriever,'' she said.

(Syracuse.com - November 16, 2015)

Earlier:

• Upstate New York baby mauled to death by family’s pit bull