Friday, November 26, 2010

Bulldogs attack 10-year-old girl in Massachusetts

MASSACHUSETTS -- A 10-year-old girl is recovering at home in the western Massachusetts town of Granby after two bulldogs attacked her in the neighbor’s yard.

The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports that the girl was bitten several times on Saturday. She was treated at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and released. Authorities withheld her identity .

The owner of the American bulldogs plans to euthanize them after a required 10-day period.

In Maine, Karen Stewart, 41, of Prentiss Township was mauled on Nov. 12 by an American bulldog mix in LaGrange. She was removed earlier this week from a drug-induced coma at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and has undergone surgeries to clean out infected tissue. She may lose one of her arms because of the damage to it.

Stewart had been visiting her friend Vaughn Adams of LaGrange when she was severely mauled by an unleashed American bulldog mix owned by Adam Bemis, 28, one of Adams’ neighbors. Stewart was bitten more than 20 times on her head, face, arms and legs.

The dog was euthanized shortly after to be tested for rabies. Bemis has been charged with keeping a dangerous dog and may face additional charges, police have said.

As with the dog in Maine, Granby Dog Officer Gordon Landry says there had been no previous reports of problems with the dogs.

The American bulldog is a stocky, strong-looking animal with powerful jaws. The canine is sometimes known not to tolerate not-so-familiar friends approaching its territory when the owner is not around.

(Bangor Daily News - Nov 25, 2010)