Cheryl Borhart and her boyfriend, Jeff Hasenauer, reported Aiden Borhart was bitten on the leg by a pit bull while riding his bicycle Saturday afternoon near the area of 11th and Dodge streets, according to Washington County Sheriff Mike Robinson.
Borhart said her son was on his way to the Arlington pool when a small dog began chasing him. A short time later, a larger dog she identified as a pit bull began chasing him. It bit Aiden on the left thigh, causing a large gash.
“It was bad,” Borhart said.
The injury required 24 stitches.
“If that was a smaller child, we would have had a fatality in this town,” Hasenauer told board members during their regular meeting Monday night.
The dog's caretaker, Anna Brahatcek, heard Aiden scream and rendered first aid. She called Borhart, who took her son home before he was transported by ambulance to the Fremont Health Medical Center.
Brahatcek, manager of Rohrig Animal Hospital in Arlington, told deputies she was fostering the dog until it could be adopted.
Robinson said there is no reason to believe Aiden provoked the dog before the attack.
Borhart said Brahatcek is paying for Aiden's medical expenses.
Dr. Kent Rohrig said the dog, Zane, is is under rabies quarantine at the veterinary clinic; however, the dog does not appear to be rabid.
The veterinarian said the dog is a pit bull mix, but he admitted the canine does look like a pit bull.
A village ordinance states it is unlawful for residents to keep, shelter or harbor any animal exhibiting pit bull or wolf-hybrid characteristics.
“I understand that pure bred pit bulls (are banned), but the mixes are a gray area,” Rohrig said. “That is my understanding.”
They asked board members to make sure the ordinance is enforced. They're worried another incident could happen.
“There are little kids who walk up and down the street and parents pushing little kids, too,” Borhart said. “I just don't want this to happen to someone else's child.”
Board Chairman Paul Krause agreed.
“If we've got an ordinance that bans these dogs, we've got to get them removed,” he said.
“We're not trying to ruin anybody's lives,” Hasenauer said. “We just need to make people aware. Yes, it's a bad situation, and a bad thing always has to happen in order for something to be done.”
Several Douglas County residents bring their pit bulls to him to treat, Rohrig said.
However, the dog in question, he said, will not reside in Arlington after it's quarantined.
“If this dog — and this is a big "if" — goes to another home, it is not going to be within the Arlington city limits,” he said.
Rohrig is unsure if the dog will be euthanized. He said this is the first time he is aware of that the dog has bitten someone.
“Whatever else happens down the road, even if this dog is going to be euthanized, I can't do it until the end of the 10-day rabies quarantine,” Rohrig said.
Robinson said Brahatcek was cited for dog at-large. She has not been cited for violating the prohibited dogs ordinance.
“That's being followed up on,” Robinson said.
Robinson said deputies will not confiscate a dog when an owner is cited for violating the prohibited dogs ordinance unless the dog is vicious and needs to be removed immediately.
The owner is given a short amount of time to remove the dog from the village before deputies and the Nebraska Humane Society take custody of the dog.
Arlington passed its prohibited dog ordinance in September 2010. Since then, Robinson said deputies have only received a few reports of those dogs within the village.
“If people know of residents who are harboring or have a pit bull, they need to let us know so we can take action and village ordinances are followed,” Robinson said.
(Pilot Tribune & Enterprise - Aug 17, 2016)
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