North Carolina: Pit bull attack victim, Christy Palucha, speaks out

NORTH CAROLINA -- In August 2011 Christy Palucha was walking through North View Mobile Home Park in Weaverville when an adult male pit bull pushed out a window air conditioner and jumped through the window and attacked her.

 

 

When Palucha bent down to try to free herself from the dog's grip, it latched onto her face and then dragged her down an embankment.

The attack lasted several minutes.

"I reach down and tried to pry its jaws out of my leg and when I did, my face was down like this and it just jumped up."

She suffered serious injuries to her face and endured several surgeries.

 

The pit bull ripped off part of her ear, ripped her neck open, ripped off an eyelid and left several deep wounds on her leg where it had first grabbed her. 

She had to wear sunglasses for 10 months, even when indoors, to protect her damaged eye.

 

 

"People just don't understand what it does to you [to get attacked in the face]. I hid myself for a year."

Palucha sued the owner of the mobile home park as the dog was at least 30 pounds larger than what the park allowed. She settled this month after the owner agreed to pay about $55,000 in medical bills, and undisclosed amounts for restitution as well as pain and suffering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

(MyWorldNews - February 6, 2014)

Chihuahua’s Owner Recalls Attack

These photos are heartbreaking. It's not unusual
to see women loving on their pets, but to see
a grown man to openly show affection for his
little Gidget makes me want to cry

PENNSYLVANIA — Heavily sedated, Gidget can barely move her big brown eyes, but this Chihuahua is alive and that’s saying something.

“And I have hopes and dreams that she’ll be fine, but I know she’s been through a lot,” Nancy Laspada said.

She and her husband Tony are brokenhearted.

“I don’t want to recall it,” says Tony.

Tuesday morning, Tony, with Gidget on her leash, took their daily walk through their Ross Township neighborhood.

“And she’s kissing the mailman and he’s petting her and calling her his beautiful girl,” he said.

Moments later, without warning Tony and Gidget were attacked.

“I turned around just to see the two pit bulls lunging at us,” he said.

Tony reached for Gidget who was being mauled and mutilated.

“We had a lot of trauma to deal with,” says surgeon, Dr. Tony Pardo of Pittsburgh Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Services.

After nearly two hours of surgery, Gidget had lost a kidney, has two crushed ribs in addition to chest and belly wounds.

“Gidget had teeth that basically sheared through her tissues and damaged her internal organs,” Dr. Pardo said.

Tony says this is not the first time his neighbor’s pit bulls may have jumped the fence and run loose.

“I had complained to him in either June or July,” he said.

Those neighbors were not answering their door.

“They’re supposed to issue a citation of dangerous pets,” Tony said.

Tony has filed a police report. He also has bites on both hands, scrapes on his knees and a chunk missing from his nose suffered in rescuing Gidget.

“I just wish I was quicker,” he said.

The two pit bulls are being held at Triangle Pet Control in McKees Rocks for a 10-day quarantine. Then the case goes to a magistrate.

Gidget will likely need more surgery to repair her wounds, so she’s not out of the woods yet. Tony says he hopes they’ll never see that pair of pit bulls on their walks ever again.

(KDKA - August 31, 2011)

Earlier:

• Pit Bulls Attack Dog, Owner

Pit Bulls Attack Dog, Owner

Gidget is lucky to be alive - suffering crushed ribs
and a destroyed kidney

PENNSYLVANIA — Two pit bulls have been quarantined after police say they attacked a man walking his pet Chihuahua.

Tony Laspada says it happened as he walked 3-year-old Gidget Tuesday morning in Ross.

“I turned around just to see two pit bulls lunging at us,” said Laspada. “No warning.”

Gidget, which he says was on a leash, was mauled.

“Her skin was just hanging off her right side,” said Laspada.

The dog had two crushed ribs and a kidney damaged so badly it had to be removed.

After emergency surgery, a veterinarian is giving the dog a 60/40 chance of survival.

Laspada also needed medical attention for bites to his one hand, the thumb on his other hand and his nose.

Police tell KDKA it’s believed the dogs, one a pit bull and the other a pit bull mix, jumped a fence.

The shirt he was wearing the day of the attack,
cradling his dog in his arms to protect her

There was no answer at the door or on the phone at the home where Laspada says the dogs came from.

It’s unclear if the dogs’ owner will be cited.

(KDKA - August 30, 2011)

Hancock County dog-attack victim released from hospital

MISSISSIPPI -- A Kiln man is home after an attack Monday by four mixed-breed dogs that gnawed on his legs as he struggled to crawl away from them.

The dogs -- a male pit - bulldog mix, a male Lab mix, a collie mix and a shepherd mix -- will be quarantined at the Waveland Animal Shelter for at least eight more days, said animal control officer Colin Freeman. The owner, who officials did not identify because charges won’t be filed against him, can pay $150 per dog to reclaim them if they are cleared.

If he doesn’t pay the $600 fee, the animals will be euthanized, Freeman said.

Matthew Shea, 27, was released Wednesday from Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, where he was treated for serious wounds to his lower legs. Nearly two dozen staples hold the flesh together where the dogs bit his legs. A crucifix tattoo on his right calf was ripped in two by one of the attacking dogs.

Shea, on disability after breaking his back two years ago in a work-related accident, had hoped to make some extra money by cutting grass at a home on Carnation Street in Kiln.

Shea had spent the morning with his 9-months-pregnant wife, Amber, and their 2-year-old son at a small family cemetery in Silver Creek. He mowed the grass there and while he had the push mower in the trunk, he decided to stop at Amber Shea’s aunt’s house on Carnation to see if her neighbor would pay him to cut his overgrown yard.

Deborah Rominger of Kiln said her son knew the man had dogs, but thought they were in the fenced backyard.

Shea said he was talking to the older man through the door when the man opened it and his dogs rushed out.

“They were all biting me and I didn’t know what to do,” he said.

Shea bolted inside the house and crawled to the open door of a bedroom as the dogs’ owner tried to corral them into the backyard. Shea said he was “pouring blood” as the man got the dogs outside and when it was safe to exit, he went back into his car and rode down the street to the aunt’s house. He was met by an ambulance there.

Hancock County Chief Deputy Ronnie Cuevas said charges would not be filed against the dog’s owner.

County prosecutor Olen Anderson said the county’s nuisance-animal policy gives pet owners an opportunity to petition for a hearing when a dog has been seized by animal control officers. In this case, the owner voluntarily surrendered the dogs, which did not have immunization records, Freeman said.

Two younger dogs, both with current immunization records, were left at the home, Freeman said.

(Sun Herald - August 31, 2011)

Service dog attacked; Owner needs help with needed surgery

UTAH -- A service dog needs help after she was viciously attacked by two pit bulls. Buffy’s owner is nearly blind and is now at his wits-end trying to find a way to pay for a necessary surgery to fix her broken hip.

The attack happened last Tuesday on South Main and 1300 S where Zoran Maunaga attends school at the Horizonte Instruction and Training Center.

“Three other people were bit trying to get the dogs apart. The dogs were loose and off the leash when they attacked,” said Maunaga’s friend Carolyn Howe.

Maunaga came to American thirteen years ago as a Bosnian refugee. He has a prosthetic left eye and relies on his service dog Buffy to get around.

“That always amazes me. You know, if he's at my house he knows the layout it's not a problem. But, when it's some place different he doesn't know where he's going,” said Howe.

A police report shows that the two pit bulls have attacked before.

“But, it sounds to me that they should have been confiscated. Well, if they killed another dog last year,” said Howe.

Maunaga is living on disability and can’t afford to pay the $970 for Buffy’s emergency care plus an additional $2,500 for the surgery to fix her hip. The veterinarian told Maunaga if Buffy doesn’t get the surgery soon it will leave her disabled.

Maunaga had to turn down an expense-paid trip back home to see friends and family because of the attack.

“His friend was taking him back to his country to see his mother to see his whole family and when this happened they told him that she couldn't go,” said Howe.

It’s been four years since Maunaga saw his mother. Now it will be longer as he fights to save his best friend.

The pit bulls were found and euthanized.

If you’d like to help contact Advanced Veterinary Care during normal business hours and explain how you’d like to help Buffy.

Advanced Veterinary Care
1021 East 3300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84106
801-942-3951

(ABC 4 News - August 31, 2011)

Bladen County Sheriff & District Attorney not releasing many details on dog mauling baby death

NORTH CAROLINA -- Residents of Clarkton in Bladen County say they're shocked after hearing horrifying stories about a nine-day-old baby being mauled to death by the family dog.

Investigators say a nine-day-old infant was killed Tuesday afternoon at a home in Clarkton. At this time, the sheriff's office and district attorney will not say much, but investigators say five dogs were removed from the home and may have been involved in the baby's death.

Betty Pate lives across the street from where the child died. She says she saw the baby's mother's reaction.

"When she came out, or when she heard the baby crying, and came out the door, the dogs had the baby," Pate said.

She says the two dogs she saw the most were a pit bull and a rottweiler.

"You never saw them in the yard," Pate said. "You never saw them out running around, so they must have been dogs that stayed in the house with them."

We went by the Bladen County Animal Shelter where all five dogs from the home are being kept. We were told that we would not be able to get pictures of the animals because of the pending investigation.

We also attempted to speak with the family at the home, but we were told no comment, and then they began throwing rocks at us, so we left.

So far no charges have been filed in the case.

 (WWAY - August 31, 2011)

Earlier:

• Baby dies in dog attack

Felony charges filed in Rootstown pit bull attack

OHIO -- A Streetsboro man who allegedly allowed his two pit bulls to run loose in July on Greenwood Road in Rootstown, where they fatally mauled another dog and injured its owner, has been indicted by a Portage County grand jury on six felony and misdemeanor charges related to the attack.

John T. Dunn, 35, of 9007 S.R. 14, was indicted Aug. 12 on two counts of failure to confine a dangerous or vicious dog, both fourth-degree felonies; failure to obtain liability insurance for a dangerous or vicious dog, both first-degree misdemeanors, and failure to register a dog, both minor misdemeanors.

Dunn was booked Aug. 25 at the Portage County jail and releasted on a personal recognizance bond.
His first court appearance will be at an arraignment hearing at 11 a.m. Sept. 12 in Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie Pittman’s courtroom in Ravenna.

The grand jury alleged that as the owner of a breed of dog deemed dangerous or vicious by state law, Dunn failed to keep his dogs chained up, penned in or muzzled, failed to register the dogs with authorities and did not purchase an insurance policy carrying $100,000 liability coverage in the event the dogs injured or killed someone, as required by state law.

The fourth-degree felonies carry a potential sentence of up to 18 months in prison. First-degree misdemeanors are punishable by up to 180 days in jail and $1,000 in fines each, while the minor misdemeanors could net $100 in fines apiece.

Dunn’s pit bulls, a male named Brutus and a female named Sable, allegedly were running loose in the 4700 block of Greenwood Road on July 15 when they attacked Marie Hustead’s 2-year-old cocker spaniel Lucky as she walked him in her front yard. It is believed Dunn is in a relationship with someone living on that street, which is why the dogs were in the neighborhood.

Lucky was fatally mauled and had to be euthanized. Hustead, 70, suffered injuries to her hands and arms trying to save Lucky and received approximately two dozen stitches. The Portage County Dog Warden’s Office investigated the incident and filed charges.

Dunn’s prior criminal record is limited to a misdemeanor illegal fireworks charge filed in December 2010 by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office. He pleaded guilty to that charge in April and paid $337 in fines and court costs, according to court records.

(Record Publishing - August 31, 2011)

Earlier:

• Pit bull attack injures woman, kills dog

Pit bull killed by neighbor had history of attacks

COLORADO -- The man who shot and killed a neighbor’s pit bull in Evans while it was attacking his own dog won’t be charged in the shooting.

The pit bull had been previously cited for attacking otherdogs, and the dog’s owner, Robert Delarosa, had been previously cited for the dog’s behavior.

Delarosa is full of excuses as to why he allowed his
pit bull "Deuce" to get loose and attack pets and people
ON THREE OCCASIONS!

At around 10 a.m. Monday, authorities were dispatched to the 3000 block of High Drive on a report of a pit bull dog that had escaped from his yard, jumped a fence and attacked another dog in its own backyard.

When officers arrived on scene they found a pit bull that was fatally shot by the owner of a shepherd mix dog that was attacked. The man who shot the dog says he attempted to separate the animals and had to shoot at the pit bull to save his dog.

You can see the injuries on the hindquarters and
belly of the Shepherd mix

Delarosa’s roommate says he let the pit bull, ‘Deuce,’ out to the backyard to go to the bathroom when the attack happened.

“I tried to pull them apart and that’s when the owner came and he had a gun,” says Ruben Mungia, “and that’s when he shot him.”

Chief, the shepherd mix, sustained minor puncture wounds to the chest area, front legs, and the rear thigh area.

"I'm pretty hurt about it,” says Delarosa. “That was my dog. I had it for years."

Delarosa says the dog’s personality changed recently after a deadly fight with a coyote that got into their backyard. He says Deuce got more aggressive.

[I don't believe this for a moment unless he shows us a police report and a witness statement. Yeah, his pit bull suddenly got aggressive after a 'deadly fight' with a coyote. Um, yeah...]

“It happened for a reason,” Delarosa says. “Something was wrong with him to want to fight these other dogs.”

In July, Delarosa was cited after Deuce and another pit bull were seen running loose from his premises.

On August 5, he was cited when Deuce excaped from his backyard and attacked a small male beagle that had sustained wounds to the face, ear, and legs. On August 9, Deuce once again attacked another dog. That attack happened to a dog that was on a walk with his owner.

Animal victims #1 and #2. Why didn't Animal Control
do something about this pit bull?!

"I kicked at him. There was just nothing. It was the most hopeless feeling I've ever had," says a former neighbor of Delarosa, who didn’t want to be identified. She says Deuce attacked her and her beagle as they walked on the sidewalk outside his home in the 3400 block of 15th Ave.

“I looked over because he barked at us. He was behind a screen door. We kept walking and suddenly something was biting me on the back of my leg,” she says. “Of course, I screamed and then my dog started barking at it. It let go of me and attacked my dog and got him by the throat.”

Delarosa had moved to a different address when the most recent attack occurred. He was cited with unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog.

Victims say something has to change to get dangerous dogs off the street.

“This certainly has caused me to review our current process. I think we can do things to make it a little better, with a little more teeth,” says Evans Police Chief Rick Brandt.

He says they will work to get dog owners in front of judges more quickly—before their dogs are released form mandatory quarantine.

Deuce had been released twice from quarantine.

Brandt says they’ll also clarify when a dog is considered vicious.

During the first attack, the animal control officer only charged Deuce as a nuisance animal.

Delarosa is due in court Sept. 8 to answer to multiple animal violation charges.

(KDVR - Aug 31, 2011)

Earlier:

• Evans man shoots and kills Pit Bull

Pomeranian killed by Rottweilers in front of children

PENNSYLVANIA -- Elizabeth Township police are investigating after a deadly dog attack.

Pamela Cassin told Channel 11's Gordon Loesch that she and her two young children were standing at a bus stop at the corner of Smithfield and Willis Streets in the Boston neighborhood, when a neighbor's two rottweilers attacked them.

RIP Caesar

"I turned around, and the dogs were charging at me and my two kids," Cassin said.

The Cassin's 5-year-old Pomeranian dog, Caesar, was killed.

"When they got the dog, and killed the dog, then they started chasing us. They weren't letting up," Cassin said.

The two Rottweillers somehow opened a door, got out of a five-foot fence and chased the family.

The owner, Bill Proneiker, said it was an accident. He said his dogs are not normally aggressive.

"I'm very sorry. My family is very sorry," said Proneiker.

[NOTE: An accident?! Since when can Rottweilers "open the front door" and then on top of it "get out of a five foot fence"??! And I suppose they ACCIDENTALLY killed the family Pomeranian right in front of the kids' faces. If the local laws do not force him to do so, this moronic owner needs to do the right thing and put these animals to sleep.]

Elizabeth Township police and the dog warden are investigating the incident.

The Rottweilers are under a 10-day quarantine and charges will be filed against the owners for harboring a dangerous animal.

(WPXI - August 30, 2011)

Pennsylvania: Man questioned after saying their pit bulls killed his wife

PENNSYLVANIA -- Homicide detectives are investigating the death Tuesday of a 50-year-old North Philadelphia woman, who, according to her husband, was killed by the couple's pit bulls.

The woman, whose name was not released, suffered "severe head and face injuries, and that appears to be the cause of death," said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

The manner of death, whether by attacking dogs or "man-made," will be determined by an autopsy Wednesday, Small said.

After an initial investigation in the home, the Medical Examiner's Office cannot say for sure, Small said.

The husband and another man were handcuffed and taken away to be questioned by detectives.

At 6:30 p.m., the husband called police and said he had come home from work and found his wife dead in the first-floor living room, Small said. The husband said his wife had been killed by their dogs, Small said.

The wife was pronounced dead in the rowhouse, in the 400 block of West Carey Street, at 6:44 p.m.
Animal-control officers removed five pit bulls from the house.

Small said that the crime scene was gruesome and that the house was "a mess," filthy, and reeking of dog urine.

Small said police had received preliminary information that the dogs had attacked neighbors in the past. He said "everyone on the block" would be questioned.

Gus Castro, 25, who lives across the street, said he was attacked on Friday when the dogs got loose in the neighborhood.

Castro showed reporters numerous bite wounds on his legs, arms, and hands.

He said that the dogs were known to be vicious and that they also attacked an elderly woman nearby, at Fifth Street and Erie Avenue.

Castro said animal-control officers had removed the dogs.

"About three or four days later, they gave them back," he said.

(Philly.com - August 30, 2011)

2 pit bulls attack city man on street

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- A city resident suffered multiple dog bites to his face, body, arms and legs Tuesday night when two pit bulls attacked him, police said.

Dwayne Perry, 43, escaped the 7 p.m. attack only by ducking into the Domino's Pizza on the corner of Lowell and Maple streets, said police Lt. Jim Flanagan.

“Apparently the pit bulls escaped 244 Lowell St. and immediately attacked him,” Flanagan said.

Witnesses saw the two dogs return to 244 Lowell St., where police confronted the two residents of Apt. 1, Deeanna Hennessey and Jennifer Caterino.

The two had no licenses or evidence of vaccinations for the animals. Police confiscated the dogs and took them to the Manchester Animal Shelter, Flanagan said.

Flanagan said Perry, who lives at 20 Orange St., was treated at the hospital for the wounds.

State law requires that dogs involved in an attack be quarantined for 10 days.

No one has been arrested in connection with the attack.

(Union Leader - August 31, 2011)

Baby dies in dog attack

NORTH CAROLINA -- WECT has learned that a 9-day-old baby has died after a dog attack in Clarkton.

Officials say the 9-day-old baby girl was attacked by one or more dogs Tuesday afternoon. A call to EMS came in around 4 pm.

Crews took the baby to Bladen County Hospital in Elizabethtown, but she died from her injuries.

The Bladen County Sheriff's Office is working with the District Attorney on the investigation, to determine exactly what happened.

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has been called to help process the scene and interview witnesses.

No charges have been filed in connection to the attack.

(WECT - August 30, 2011)

8-year-old boy attacked by dog, owner cited

COLORADO -- An 8-year-old boy has bite wounds up and down his body after a neighbor's dog attacked him, and the boy's parents and residents in the neighborhood were upset at the response by authorities on Tuesday.

However, on Tuesday night the owner of the dog had been cited and the dog was impounded, according to Lakewood Police. Police say the owner was also given a court summons and the dog will remain impounded until the man appears in court.

Dirk Martinez was attacked on Monday near Florida Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard when the dog, a German Shepherd, broke through its gate and went for the boy.

"I screamed, 'Help me, help me,' three times," Dirk said. "I was walking to my friend's house to get my bike back. I heard banging. The dog jumped me. Jumped on my shirt and started yanking me."

His pants and shirt have large holes in them and Dirk has bite marks, scrapes and bruises from his chin down to his calf.

"Nobody is doing anything about this," Stefanie Martinez, Dirk's mother, said earlier in the day before the owner was cited. "I'm just so pissed."

Martinez says police did not respond on Monday night, but Lakewood Animal Control did. However, she says no citation was issued and animal control did not take custody of the dog on Monday.

"All of our kids play on this street. Everyone is terrified," she said.

"Just a scary, scary situation," Anna Martinez, a neighbor who is not related to the family, said.

Anna Martinez lives two houses away from where the dog lives. She saw the attack.

"It all just happened so fast," she said. "He was screaming, 'Help me, help me.'"

She says a man who was in the neighborhood drove up to the attack and scared the dog away, but not before he was bitten himself.

Anna Martinez has two young children of her own and says what happened is unacceptable.

"Hopefully it gets put down," she said about the dog.

"I hope the dog goes dead," Dirk said. "I'm scared. I never want to go back down there. I don't like German Shepherds."

Dirk is recovering. He is sore and is on antibiotics in case of an infection, but otherwise his mother says he is doing fine.

Lakewood Animal Control was at the location on Tuesday but refused to talk to 9NEWS.

Neighbors say there has never been a problem with this dog before.

While 9NEWS was talking to the Martinez family, the dog's owner called, apologized for what happened and took full responsibility. He also gave the Martinez' his insurance information. He was out of town and the dog was being watched by a neighbor.

(KUSA - August 30, 2011)

Florida: Broward Sheriff's Office deputies shoot and kill attacking pit bulls after they attacked woman and her cat

FLORIDA -- Broward Sheriff's Office deputies reportedly shot and killed two dogs after they say the canines attacked a woman and tried to come after them.

According to BSO, two pit bulls in a Deerfield Beach neighborhood attacked a neighborhood cat, Monday evening. The cat's owner intervened, and the dogs began mauling her.

"Apparently, these pit bulls came into her yard and started attacking at least one of her cats and then began attacking her," said Dani Moschella of BSO.

When BSO deputies responded to the scene, the dogs charged at an officer. Deputies fired several shots at the pit bulls, killing them. Moschella said, "Multiple deputies were forced to fire their weapons and kill the dogs when the dogs became aggressive toward them."

Witnesses like Chris Goldbach thought the gunshots they heard were fireworks. "At first, I saw one police car over there, and all of a sudden, I saw the police tape, and I was worried that maybe it was a kid in the neighborhood," Goldbach said.

Some of the bullets struck a nearby home; one bullet went through the windshield of a truck parked in Evan Samdahl's driveway. "My neighbor always has her kids out playing on the sidewalks here back and forth, so I'm just thankful there were no kids outside," said Samdahl. "I love pit bulls, but an aggressive-breed dog needs to be secured."

The 53-year-old victim was transported to an area hospital, suffering from bite wounds to her arms, abdomen and foot. Her arm was particularly left shredded by the attack. Now she fears for her cat. She believes the cat may have died in the attack, but she did not see the body and would like to find the remains to give her pet a proper burial.

After the shooting, the dogs' owners arrived at the scene and claimed the animals. It is unknown if he will face any charges.

(WSVN - August 30, 2011)

Mother Of Kids Found In Trash-Filled Home Sentenced

TEXAS -- A Waco woman was sentenced to probation Monday in 19th District Court after she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and endangering a child.

Tomeka Davidson, 34, was arrested in February after police officers discovered her four children living in a home that was filled with animal waste and trash.

Officers reported the home had no running water or natural gas service.

She was also arrested in August 2010 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after her pit bull dogs attacked a group of people walking in her neighborhood.

State District Judge Ralph Strother ordered a pre-sentence investigation and after it comes back to the court he will set terms of her probation.

(KWTX - August 30, 2011)

Pit bull shot, killed by Everett police after attack

WASHINGTON -- Everett police officers shot and killed a pit bull Monday night after it reportedly attacked them and a police dog.

Around 11 p.m., police were called to help with crowd control at a fire in the 3200 block of Rucker Avenue, Sgt. Ryan Dalberg said.

The police dog and its handler were checking the area when they found a man in an alley holding on to a large pit bull by the harness, without a leash, Dalberg said.

Officers ordered the man to take the dog away from the area. The man refused and became belligerent.
Officers began to arrest the man for obstruction, but they first ordered him to give the dog to a woman who was with him, Dalberg said. When the officers went to put handcuffs on the man, he fought back.

The pit bull broke free from the woman, Dalberg said. The pit bull bit the police dog and then latched on to its handler, biting the officer on one of his thighs.

Officers first tried to use a Taser on the dog, without effect. He then shot the pit bull with his handgun.
The dog let go, but then began charging other officers, Dalberg said. One officer had to climb onto a patrol car to avoid being bitten.

Several more shots were fired by the officers, and the dog eventually died.

During the scuffle, the dog's owner also was Tased. He was arrested and booked into Snohomish County Jail for investigation of third-degree assault.

The officer who was bitten was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries. The police dog was treated by a veterinarian and later released, Dalberg said.

Unlike a shooting involving a human, where policy requires officers to be placed on leave, the officers involved in this incident remain on duty.

Monday marked the second fatal shooting of a pit bull in Everett this month. On Aug. 17, a man shot his neighbor's pit bull in the 7100 block of Lower Ridge Road in Everett. The man told police the dog had charged him and his daughter.

The fire on Rucker on Monday night remains under investigation and its cause is undetermined pending further interviews, Everett Fire Inspector Eric Hicks said.

The fire broke out in the living room of an abandoned house. It was contained to the living room.

Investigators believe squatters may have been living in the house, Hicks said.

(Herald Net - August 30, 2011)

Evans man shoots and kills Pit Bull

COLORADO -- On Monday morning at approximately 10:00 am, Evans Police Officer Kauffman and Evans Animal Control Officer Augustine were dispatched to the 3000 block of High Drive on a report of an animal attack, according to Evans Police spokesperson Rita Wolf.

While en route, the Officers were advised a pit bull dog had escaped from his yard, jumped a fence and attacked another dog in its own backyard. Officers arrived on scene within minutes of the initial call to discover the pit bull had been fatally shot by the owner of shepherd mix dog that had been attacked.

The brown and white pit bull by the name of Deuce had previously attacked two other dogs and the owner, Robert Delarosa had been issued citations according to the press release.

On July 22, 2011 Delarosa was cited with dog at large and no license for Deuce and another pit bull running loose from his premises.

On August 5, 2011, Delarosa was cited for nuisance animal and dog at large as Deuce had somehow gotten out of his backyard and attacked a small male beagle that had sustained wounds to the face, ear, and legs.

On August 9, 2011, Deuce once again attacked another dog, while the owner was walking his 12 year old dog, Atticus. Deuce was placed on home quarantine until Animal Control Officer Augustine picked Deuce up on August 10, 2011 and Deuce was taken to the Weld County Humane Society where he was placed on quarantine and was cited for Animal at Large and Vicious Animal on that date.

Deuce was released to Delarosa on August 21, 2011 pending municipal court for all the above charges. Delarosa had moved to a different address when this subsequent attack occurred with Chief, a 6 year old Shepherd mix. Deuce jumped the fence in his backyard and jumped into the dog run where Chief was in.

Wolf says Chief's owner heard all the commotion in his backyard and ran to Chief's aid. He attempted to separate the dogs and eventually shot and killed Deuce in order to free Chief. Chief sustained minor puncture wounds to the chest area, front legs, and the rear thigh area. Delarosa was cited with Unlawful Ownership of a dangerous dog.

(NOCO5 - August 30, 2011)

Girl Attacked By Pit Bull Talks To 10News

CALIFORNIA -- A young girl attacked by a pit bull in a City Heights neighborhood spoke to 10News about her terrifying encounter.

Sarah Villa-Vasquez can't stop thinking of the pit bull that broke from its leash in a yard in the 4500 block of Auburn Drive and attacked her. It doesn't help that the 6-year-old has bandaged reminders of the incident all over her face and body.

Sarah said she was playing with a friend outside the yard when the dog started barking aggressively.

"One of the fence pieces was broken and it got out from the crack and it started attacking me," she said.

Natasha Villa, Sarah's mother, was two houses down when the attack happened and recognized her daughter's scream immediately.

"She had a pool of blood all over her shirt, on her shorts," said Villa. "There's still some blood on her shoe."

The attack happened outside David Powell's home. He said he's not the owner of the dog, but has been watching over it recently. Powell was bitten in the hand while trying to control the situation.

Witnesses at the scene said Powell's daugher, who Sarah was playing with, was also bitten, but Powell said she merely had some scratches.

County Animal Services is investigating whether to charge Powell with a crime. The county now has custody of the dog, which will likely be euthanized. A decision will be made in the next 10 days.

The county said out of nearly 2,700 dog bites from June 2011 through July 2010, 389 involved pit bulls -- nearly 15 percent.

Sarah said she doesn't know how many stitches she received and when she'll get them removed. What she does know is she hopes no one else experiences what she did.

"I think [the dog] should be put down because I'm afraid it'll happen to another kid. I don't want that," she said.

(10 News - August 29, 2011)

Earlier:

• Four injured in two pit bull attacks

Four injured in two pit bull attacks

CALIFORNIA -- Four people, including a 6-year-old girl who suffered a bite to the face, were recovering Monday after being attacked by pit bulls in City Heights.

In the first incident, animal control officers were called to a home on Auburn Drive off Euclid Avenue at 11:30 a.m. by an emergency crew attending to the girl, Lt. Dan DeSousa of the county’s Department of Animal Control Services said.

The girl had been at the house playing with the daughter of the dog’s owner when the animal, chained outside, attacked her, DeSousa said.

The startled child then threw candy at the dog and it broke free and bit her again on the arm.

The owner was bit in the hand as he intervened, and his daughter also suffered a minor bite to the right shoulder, DeSousa said.

The 4-year-old dog, a 65 pound male named Cass, was taken to the Gaines Street animal shelter where it was to be tested for rabies and be quarantined for 10 days, he said. The department’s investigation will determin if the dog will be returned to the owner or euthanized, DeSousa said.

Factors that will be considered include how many times the dog has bitten before, the severity of the injuries it inflicted and how responsible the owner is, he said.

Officers were told conflicting stories as to how the dog had come to live with the family. The owner told animal control officers he only had the animal for four or five days. The person who he said he got the dog from disavowed any knowledge of it, DeSousa said.

DeSousa said it is against state law to keep an animal chained to a stationary object more than three hours a day. He said an animal that cannot flee when scared or confronted will attack because that is its only option.

“You can take a good dog and make it bad by chaining it, and take a bad dog and make it even worse,” DeSousa said.

The second dog attack was reported about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The victim said he was on 39th Street near Thorn Street when he was bitten on the arm by a pit bull that was running loose. He described the animal as “mostly black with a little white,” DeSousa said.

He did not know if the dog was male or female. Animal control officers searched the area but did not find it.

Officers will patrol the area for the next 10 days to see if they can locate the dog, DeSousa said.

(Sign on San Diego - August 29, 2011)

Pit-bull owner cited for child attack

MISSISSIPPI -- A dog attacked a child Friday afternoon in Columbus, sending him to the hospital and prompting area law enforcement officials to take a closer look at the city's leash laws and vicious-dog ordinance.

Interim Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen said at approximately 4:12 p.m., a 10-year-old was riding near the intersection of 13th Avenue and Fourth Street South when he was knocked from his bike by a dog described as a "pit-bull mix."

Witnesses told police that after the child fell to the ground, the dog continued to attack, "going for his face and neck." The dog fled back to its house when a bystander threw a 40-ounce beer at it.

Police cited dog owner LaTracy Williams, 30, of 1224 Fouth St. S., for having a nuisance dog, allowing the dog to run free and having no vaccination tag or identification for the animal. The dog was taken to the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society for a 10-day observation hold.

The child was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle, where he was treated for bite wounds and released.

McQueen said all dogs within the city limits are required to be confined to a house or pen and adhere to local leash laws. In addition, owners of pit bull and Rottweiler breeds -- whether kept inside or outside -- must register their dog with the Animal Control Office at the Columbus Police Department. By state law, all dogs must also have a rabies vaccination and tag.

The fines for failure to register a pit bull or Rottweiler are $10 for a first offense, $20 for a second offense and $40 for a third offense. The fines for having no proof of vaccination are $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third offense.

He said while the department and its three animal control officers work hard to make sure the laws are enforced, he intends to start cracking down harder on dog owners who fail to comply.

"We are looking into these issues," McQueen said. "It would be a real smart thing for citizens to make sure dogs ... are in compliance."

Oktibbeha County is looking into creating a vicious-dog ordinance, following the Aug. 13 attack of two children by five pit bulls and last summer's mauling of five cows.

Citizens are expected to attend a Sept. 5 meeting by the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to request action.

(The Dispatch - August 23, 2011)