The dog has been at a Jay veterinarian's clinic since the attack Tuesday. Police Chief Bryan Eaton said the dog's owners plan to have the dog euthanized after a 10-day observation period that is required to see if the dog is rabid.
"This dog needs to die, said Stephanie Crittenden, mother of the victim, Cianna Crittenden, of Kansas.
The toddler suffered puncture wounds to one eye and cheek and around the neck area in the attack. She was flown by helicopter to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa where she underwent neck surgery.
Stephanie Crittenden described her daughter on Friday as "doing real good although Crittenden herself has not had much sleep.
"She loves animals, Crittenden said. "She was standing in front of him (the dog) saying, Puppy-puppy,' when he lunged at her, knocking her down and biting her cheek.
The family has been staying with relatives after a fire earlier this month destroyed the Crittendens' home and all their belongings. Before going outside with a cousin to play the day of the attack, Cianna was talking about the family's puppy that had perished in the fire, Stephanie Crittenden said.
The dog was chained to a neighbor's house but had enough chain to pounce on Cianna a second time as the girl turned to run away, Crittenden said. It was during the second attack the dog locked his jaws onto the back of her neck, she said.
"I was just so scared and shocked, Crittenden said.
Earlier, Crittenden had admonished her daughter not to get dirty because they would be leaving shortly to drop off a housing application.
Cianna might go home today, pending the outcome of an MRI test done Friday, Crittenden said.
Proposed legislation
State Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, said in a telephone interview he plans to introduce a bill modeled after a Denver municipal ordinance that would get rid of pit bull terriers.
"Many people who own pit bulls say that it's other owners who train their pit bulls to be vicious, Wesselhoft said. "For them it is never the dogs' fault. Sometimes they are correct; but more often they simply will not face brute reality it is in the very nature and breeding of this creature to draw blood and kill."
Wesselhoft said he is calling on the state Health Department to declare an epidemic of vicious dog attacks and issue an alert to parents, advising them to keep their children away from the animals.
"I firmly believe that any parent who allows their small child to play with a pit bull, especially without direct supervision, is committing an act of child neglect, whether they mean to or not, Wesselhoft said.
Wesselhoft said his proposed legislation will be named Cody's Law after Cody Yelton, a 3-year-old boy from Moore who lost his arm to a pit bull attack, and Cody Adair, a 4-year-old boy who was killed by a pit bull in the Bartlesville area.
Wesselhoft also proposes expanding the state's dangerous dog law.
JOAN MORRISON = IN DENIAL
Joan Morrison of the Endangered Breed Association said Wesselhoft's bill goes too far and should not be breed specific. Her organization supports House Bills 2697 and 2076 and Senate Bill 1711, which call for strict penalties and fines for owners of dangerous dogs of any breed.
Morrison's organization emphasizes the need to enforce leash laws, to penalize irresponsible dog owners, and to educate parents and children on pet care and safety.
"It's not a breed problem. It's a people problem, she [claims].
(NewsOK - Jan 28, 2006)
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