Animal rescue group Dallas Animal Services said the case of "Rusty" will be presented next Friday after the dog caused "serious bodily injury" when it went after a toddler at a pet adoption event.
On Thursday, the operators of that event, Dallas Pets Alive, released a new statement in which they
The boy's mother vigorously disputes that account.
"He was not unattended at all. I was with him the entire time he was there. I was literally a few feet away when it happened," said his mother, Dr. Allis Cho.
As Cho explained in an interview with WFAA last week, her family was at the park two weekends ago when they came across the event. She said they received permission from a volunteer to pet Rusty, one of the rescues that was leashed.
They did so without incident and moved on, but when Cho and her son Luca returned to Rusty's area, Cho said the dog attacked.
"This was a full-on mauling. The dog grabbed him, drug him to the ground and wouldn't let go," Cho said.
Photos of the incident show puncture wounds to the boy's upper torso and arm. Several men nearby rushed to get the dog off the crying child.
Dallas Pets Alive claims the toddler approached the dog on his own and was attacked. Actually, they minimize it saying he was bitten. However, if you look at the photos of the child, you can clearly see that the child was attacked from the side. If, as Dallas Pets Alive claims, he was approaching the dog which bit him "out of fear", the toddler would've been bitten in the face.
Dallas Pets Alive said it thinks the animal can be rehabilitated given it had "...no history of aggressive behavior or biting," according to the statement.
The hearing will determine if the dog, claimed by DALLAS PETS ALIVE to be a labrador and pit bull mix, is euthanized -- something Dr. Cho is still pushing for.
"We would feel guilty if he went on to attack another kid," she said.
Luca is recovering well, but there are concerns about the emotional toll.
"Obviously, he's traumatized. We have a larger dog at home," she said. "My husband's family has three large dogs, and he definitely runs away from them now."
Luca's family has a German Shepherd; this little boy
knows how to behave around large dogs
Dallas Pets Alive declined an interview but said it has now "re-evaluated policies" at its open adoptions.
Dallas Pets Alive CLAIM changes now include:
- A new easy-to-identify color-coded system. For example, a "green" animal can attend all events: Good with kids, other dogs and very social. A "red" cannot attend events.
- A formal written behavior assessment form will be kept in the dog's file to ensure that everyone in the organization knows, at all times, the behavioral needs of our adoptable animals.
- The final list of all event attendance will be approved by both behavioral and medical team leads.
- No alcohol consumption at events for anyone handling an animal (many of the adoption events are at local breweries).
- Required dog handler training for volunteers, organization leaders, and fosters. Volunteers will not be allowed to handle dogs at events without prior training.
If Dallas Pets Alive wants to put their money where their mouth is, they will agree to sign paperwork accepting ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR ONE YEAR FOR ANY PIT BULL (MIX) THEY ADOPT. If they were held to that standard, they would be much more selective in what dogs they were declaring "lovable, friendly" and ready to come home to your family.
This is why there are so many articles of owners being attacked by their Pit Bulls. Owners who raised their dogs with love, had them inside the home with children and other pets, socialized them... did everything they "thought" they needed to do and then that beloved pet "snapped" and tried to kill them, leaving them to wonder what they did 'wrong'. They didn't do anything wrong other than choose this particular dog; it's akin to buying a tiger cub, raising it with love and then wondering why, once it became sexually mature, tried to kill them: it's in their nature. It's inherent in them to do this.
Story of the Scorpion and the Frog:
One day a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across the river. The frog, afraid of being stung during the trip declines helping the scorpion.
The scorpion argues that if it stung the frog, both would sink and he would also drown, so for his benefit he would never sting him.
The frog eventually agrees and carries the scorpion across the river until midway, the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both to drown.
As they slowly sink into the water asks why he had stung him, crying out, "Now we shall both die!".
The scorpion simply points out that, “I had no choice; it's in my nature“.
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