New York: Grandmother mauled in Bronx pit bull attack speaks out

EASTCHESTER, THE BRONX, NEW YORK -- The woman who was seriously injured in a vicious pit bull attack in the Bronx is speaking out about the harrowing ordeal exclusively to Eyewitness News.

Althea Woodson, who goes by Lisa, was watching her two young grandchildren at the Eastchester Gardens apartments when the large dog somehow got loose and pounced.

 

 

The 57-year-old suffered serious injuries to her hand and face, even losing part of her ear. She is now recovering at home.

"I have a gash, a gash here, a gash here," she said. "See where all the blood is?"

The physical pain is hard enough, but what truly overwhelms her is the the terror she felt as her grandkids played on a jungle gym and the dog lunged their way.

 

"I'm yelling at my grandkids, 'Don't come down, don't come, don't come down, don't come down,'" she said. "And then I see the dog again. It came back around me, and it lunged at my face. So I kicked it."

Eyewitness News obtained video of Woodson screaming on the bench after that dog grabbed her by the head and dragged her away

"And it just kept coming and coming," she said. "And it won't go. It won't go nowhere, and it hurt so bad."

 

 

It wasn't until a stranger started beating the unleashed dog with a stick that it let her go.

Authorities say it was living in the Eastchester Gardens Houses, a NYCHA project where pit bulls are prohibited. But residents say they are all over the place.

City Council member Andy King said if the housing authority can't follow its own rules, maybe it should ban pets altogether.

 

In the meantime, Woodson's son is just happy she -- and the children -- are OK.

"You could call her a hero right now, because there were other kids in the park also," Walter Woodson said. "If that big dog attacked other kids, you know, it's..."

As he ponders what could have happened, the Animal Care Center of NYC has taken custody of the dog. Its owner, 23-year-old Shannon Ingram, has been charged with two counts of reckless endangerment.

"I don't know," Lisa Woodson said. "He tried to hurt my grandchildren, and I had to stop him. I had to."

Eastchester Gardens is a NYCHA housing development, and residents are allowed to have pets. However, some, including pit bulls are not always on a leash. NYCHA policy specifically prohibits certain dog species, including Doberman Pinschers, Pit Bulls and Rottweilers. In addition. dogs must always be kept on a leash while in a public area, and pets are not allowed to enter pet-free zones, including playgrounds, which is where this dog attack occurred.

NYCHA released the following statement: "We are saddened to hear of this incident and will be looking into this immediately. While our policy welcomes residents to have pets as part of their family, there are restrictions in our policy and we expect pets to not endanger fellow residents."

Residents say they have complained about the Pit Bulls.

(ABC7NY - March 29, 2018)

New Zealand: Pit Bull / American Bulldog mix rushs over to park playground and mauls little girl

NEW ZEALAND -- A 6-year-old girl had to undergo plastic surgery after a dog attacked her at a Canterbury park.

The girl is recovering at home following the incident at Rangiora's Good Street Reserve on Sunday afternoon.

Francesca Laffey said daughter, Chloe, was "definitely a tough little thing, a wee battler".

Chloe was at the park with her grandmother when a dog attacked her.

"She was playing on the flying fox when the dog jumped up and bit her," her mother said.

The dog's owners were at the park when the incident happened.

Chloe had to undergo an hour-long surgery for the wound on her chest and was left with several stitches.

Francesca Laffey said it was too soon to know what effect the incident would have on her daughter's confidence around dogs.

"There will probably be some effects I'm sure, but as I say she is a tough wee thing so hopefully she bounces back and doesn't let it affect her too much."

Waimakariri District Council spokesman Matt McIlraith said the dog, an American Bulldog / Pit Bull mix, was euthanized on Monday night.

Laffey said that was a relief to her and the family.

"We are animal lovers, but if a dog is capable of doing something like this then there is always the chance it could do it again and I would hate for another family to go through this."

Laffey said Chloe had asked her questions about the attack, including why it happened.

"She has told me she wished she had never gone to the park.

"We've just told her it wasn't her fault at all and that she should never have to worry about going to the park and playing."

Laffey urged dog owners to keep their animals off playgrounds.

"You would hope that dogs would not be off leads and on children's playgrounds; there is too much opportunity for them to get over-excited and things can happen.

"I would also urge parents who are concerned about dogs in playgrounds to have the courage to approach the owners and tell them."

McIlraith said the council implored dog owners to look after their pets in public spaces and keep them under control.

"This is particularly relevant with summer on us as pets and their owners are out in force in public places around the district, making the most of the great weather."

Chloe would be off school for a while, but was "still perky", her mother said. "I've had to remind her not do things and take it easy."

The council was still investigating the attack and was yet to decide whether it would prosecute the dog's owners.

(Stuff NZ - November 29 2017)

(June 2017) Australia: Boy, 9, mauled in the FACE after throwing himself in front of a Pit Bull to save the life of a three-year-old girl

062617-boymauledAUS-1

AUSTRALIA -- A nine-year-old boy is being labelled a hero after protecting a young girl from a Staffordshire Pit Bull Terrier.

Matty Gebauer-Worden was mauled on the face by a dog after he saw the animal about to attack his three-year-old friend Willow.

 

 

The dog had escaped from its owner's Adelaide backyard and will be euthanised.

Matty and Willow were at a playground in Evanston Gardens when the dog broke free and found its way to the area.

'He was about to launch into her,  but instead I got in the way and he launched at me,' Matty told Seven News.

He said he absorbed the attack because 'Willow is only three-years-old, she needs to grow up.'

 

 

Matty suffered a series of puncture wounds to his mouth and lips and was taken to hospital after the mauling.

His mother said she was 'so proud of him,' while Willow's mum said he was her 'hero.'

The local council say they have seized the dog and it will be euthanized, but the owner will face no further action.

Of course "no further action" will be taken. Rarely is "further action" taken. This leaves the owner free to hand over the vicious dog, go online and get a new Pit Bull the very next day.

VIDEO NEWS CLIP:

(Daily Mail - June 26, 2017)

United Kingdom: Two loose pit bulls jump fence into playground area of park and maul woman's dog to death

UNITED KINGDOM -- A dog has allegedly being mauled to death in a children's play area by two pit bulls.

A witness to the aftermath of the incident has told how a woman was reportedly walking her two dogs in Tivoli Park, on Tivoli Road, in West Norwood, yesterday morning (Thursday) when she noticed two other dogs nearby.

After the woman walked into the play area in the park the two other dogs are alleged to have jumped over a fence and attacked one of her dogs - which died from his injuries.

Flowers have been left at the scene, which suggest that the victim's name was Percy, and a photo of the dead dog, which is too graphic to pubish, was posted on social media.

Maggie Morrissey was sitting in her garden, on Tivoli Road, at around 10am yesterday when she and her two sons heard "screaming" and "barking".

Ms Morrissey, along with her sons, went to see what the commotion was about.

She said: "A lady was walking her two dogs in the park and she noticed these two dogs, which were pit bull type dogs. She went into the children's section of the park and apparently this dog hopped over the fence into the play area and attacked this dog.

"We were sitting opposite the park in our garden and we could hear screaming, barking and growling so my two sons ran out. It was awful."

Ms Morrissey went on to say that the owner of the dog that died ran out of the play area in a bid to save her other dog – which she managed to do.

Passers-by are said to have thrown water over the two dogs in an attempt to get them off the motionless dog on the floor – but the damage was already done.

The owner is reported to have eventually been found by someone who witnessed the incident and is said to have taken the dogs away.

Ms Morrissey is a member of the Friends of Tivoli Park – a group of volunteers who work to improve and maintain the park which is just over the Croydon border, in Lambeth.

"I am a member of the Friends of Tivoli Park and we want people to use it," she said.

"We have put in a lot of time and effort to make sure the park is nice. We have a nice play area and have a new orchard.

"People are frightened to go into the park now and they are saying 'I am not taking my dogs there'. People aren't even taking their children now. I am shocked.

"The whole street was out and it was shocking to see. A dog mauling another dog – disgusting."

Although the alleged attack took place in a children's play area, there were no children in the park at the time.

Ms Morrissey said: "Dog attacks are an issue in the area. Not just in our park but in London as a whole. Yesterday there was a dog attacked in Brixton and it's a reoccurring thing because no one is doing anything about it.

"If it's a dangerous dog, it could be a poodle or a German Shepard, that dog needs to be taken away."

Yes, Maggie Morrissey. We have sooo many cases of killer poodles running around ripping kids' faces off and killing pets. Stop trying to be so politically-correct.

(Croydon Advertiser - April 29, 2017)