The dog, named House, has been taken away and is at risk of being labeled “dangerous.”
The owners claim their Pit Bull was "provoked".
The owners’ neighbor, Kristy Heberling said, “Dogs are like your kids. And I just want to make sure he’s safe and he’s given a second chance.”
On New Years Eve, police say House bit the girl’s head and face at a home on Harlem Road in Amherst.
If House is labeled a “dangerous dog,” there is a chance he could be put down.
BLAMING THE VICTIM, WHO IS 10-YEARS OLD:
Kristy Heberling said, “He’s not a dangerous dog. You’re stepping on someone’s property. Staring in the door not saying anything. The owner asks you to leave, you don’t listen you still stare. You’re not supposed to stare into a dog’s eyes.”
Because this investigation is on-going, House’s owners’ didn’t want to speak on camera. They asked Heverling to help share their story.
Heberling said, “This dog was loved, he was pampered.”
The owners say the little girl was on their property, provoking House. They say they asked her to leave and when she wouldn’t leave, he reacted.
Heberling says mixed breeds like House get a bad reputation for being violent.
She said, “But then they just assume it’s a pit bull. With the bad reputations of pit-bulls, people assume the animal is abused and that’s not the case in this instance.”
She says it is House’s animal instinct to want to protect his owners.
House will remain in the Animal Control Center in Clarence until the hearing on January 22nd.
News 4 has reached out to the little girl’s family for comment, but we have not yet heard back.
(wivb.com - Jan 10, 2016)
No comments:
New comments are not allowed.