California: Pit bull that had attacked a neighbor JUST LAST MONTH now attacks 8-year-old boy, severely mauling his face

CALIFORNIA -- An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized Thursday, July 20, with serious bite wounds to one of his eyes and his mouth after a dog lunged at him in Home Gardens — the second such incident involving the dog in about a month.

The 6-year-old unaltered male pit bull has been impounded and will be euthanized, according to Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman John Welsh.

The attack happened a little after 7 p.m. as two boys were visiting their friend’s house on Avenida Pescador in Home Gardens, California The dog, which lived at the house, lunged at one of the boys and attacked, causing severe injuries, Welsh said.

The boy’s father declined to comment Friday evening.

This Pit Bull first attacked a neighbor and the moronic owner

decided to keep it. Now it's ripped off the face of a little boy.

The dog should have been secured, Welsh said, because it had already been deemed “potentially dangerous” following a June 24 attack on a neighbor who had come onto the dog owner’s property.

That victim suffered four puncture wounds to his right forearm and nerve damage to some of his fingers. Welsh said he believed the bite happened on the porch.

After the first incident, Welsh said, the dog’s owner received two citations for failing to vaccinate and license the dog, with fines totaling $419. The dog still had not been licensed or vaccinated before Thursday’s attack, Welsh said.

“The owner should have been more cautious after the first time,” Welsh said.

Because Animal Services designated the dog as “potentially dangerous,” it should have been maintained in a secure yard or on a harness and was required to be on a leash when outside the property.

The owner also had to post a sign saying “Beware of Dangerous Dog” and would have to have notified Animal Services 15 days before moving the dog to a new home or transferring ownership.

Welsh said the owner — whose name was not released — would not be cited again for the second attack because Animal Services has custody of the dog. The owner still will be required to pay the fines from the first attack.

Animal Services did not impound the dog after the first incident because of a number of factors, Welsh said. Among them, the attack happened on the dog’s property, and Animal Services did not consider the injuries to the neighbor to be extremely serious.

“If a dog’s out running loose and bites a kid, we’re going to collect it and impound it,” Welsh said.

After this week’s attack, the owner signed a form allowing for the dog to be euthanized.

“In light of the boy’s severe injuries, we would have recommended that the dog be euthanized in the interest of public safety,” Animal Services Lt. James Huffman said in the release. “Our hearts go out to the victim and his family as he recovers from this horrible, preventable incident.”

It was unclear when the dog would be euthanized. A hearing over the July 5 incident that was scheduled to take place next week has been canceled after the owner signed the dog over.

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(PE - July 21, 2017)