Two-year-old girl is mauled in garden

UNITED KINGDOM -- A two year-old girl was mauled by a dog as she bent down to hand it a treat.

Toddler Icy Thomas-Day had her eyelid bitten off by her neighbour’s pet when she tried to hand it a dog chew.

She was left screaming in agony in front of her horrified parents and two brothers.

Her mum and dad are angry that the police cannot order the West Highland White Terrier to be destroyed.

They said their neighbours have told officers that they are not prepared to have it put down.

Mum Jessica described the attack as ‘the worst moment of my life’.

She said: “It was just so quick. The dog made this noise and jumped over the dog treat at her face and scratched at her six or seven times and bit her. Then my little girl was screaming horrifically.”

The family were in their neighbour’s garden to celebrate the dog’s third birthday.

Police said they do not have powers to order the dog to be put down because the attack happened in its owner’s garden.

Mrs Thomas-Day, 31, added: “It’s disgraceful.

“Dogs have more rights than humans.”

She said the family had been around the dog before and prior to the attack. Her daughter had thrown a ball for it that they had brought with them as a birthday present.

Icy was taken by ambulance to Dorset County Hospital and her father Paul then drove her to Poole Hospital where she endured two-and-a-half hours in theatre having stitches put in.

In two weeks Icy will return to hospital to have her stitches looked at and to check if the eye has been damaged.

The dog breed is not considered dangerous but Mr Thomas-Day, 41, wants to warn other parents that any breed of dog can attack.

He said: “It’s horrendous.

'A chunk of her left eyelid had been ripped off.
It won't grow back again and she will have
no eyelashes on that eye.'

“People need to be made aware if you go on to someone’s property and they have a dog it is at your own risk.

“There’s nothing you can do about it and it can be any dog. Cute little dogs are as bad as the big ones.”

Icy’s brothers Jet, eight, and Tai, 11, were also stunned at seeing their sister attacked.

Tai said: “I’m worried about my little brother and Icy as she was having nightmares at hospital.”

It is understood that the dog owners are not following police advice to have the dog destroyed.

The dog’s owners were not at their holiday home in Portesham where the attacked occurred.

(Dorset Echo - July 28, 2011)

Pomeranian breeder, Shauna Jenkins, could face more charges

LOUISIANA -- A Baton Rouge dog breeder who was arrested for illegally housing Pomeranians in her home could go on trial in Texas.

Newly released video shows what Baton Rouge Animal Control officers said they saw as they walked into the home of Shauna Jenkins back in September of 2007.

 

 

 

The kitchen was full of laundry, blankets and there was paper everywhere. There was feces on the floor and sheets that lined the hallways.

Thirty-eight Pomeranians were crammed into this filthy house. One dog was found dead.

Some of the dogs were roaming free through the house, while others were packed in a small cage.

The video was submitted into court in Johnson County, TX.

 

 

 

Shauna Jenkins, when she was arrested in 2007

Most of the dogs were adopted after Jenkins was arrested. She filed suit in 2010 to get them back from the current owners in Texas.

The owners' attorney, Donald Feare, said he plans to make a request for trial in the next 10 to 14 days.

(WAFB - July 27, 2011)

Earlier:

• Pomeranian breeder Shauna Elaine Jenkins, 38, charged with theft and 38 counts of animal cruelty
• Charges dismissed; original owner Shauna Jenkins wants Pomeranians back

Related: 

• Video from seizure in 2007

Pitbull attack on 8-year-old girl leaves mother upset about county animal control's response

FLINT, MI — A pit bull attack last week on the city’s east side left an 8-year-old girl with 70 stitches on her face and her mother upset that Genesee County Animal Control declined to take the dog away.

DeNasia Bold was attacked Friday when she was playing with friends in the yard of the dog’s owner.

The dog, which had to be pulled off the girl, was allowed to stay at the owner’s home next door for nearly a week before the owner took it to animal control himself Wedesday to have it euthanized.

Shawn Keskes, 30, told the Flint Journal that he made the decision because he felt he could no longer trust his dog, Bud, and was scared it might happen again.

“I’m not going to have an animal that’s like that,” he said.

But DeNasia’s mother, Christina Dotson, thinks the county should have taken the dog sooner after the attack.

Dotson, 33, said she called Genesee County Animal Control on Monday morning to report Friday’s attack on Winifred Street but said animal control workers didn’t show up until the next day.

Dotson said animal control told her they would not remove or euthanize the dog.

“They should have been out here immediately,” Dotson said. “For them not to (take the dog away) is just crazy.”

Stepheni Lazar, chief officer of Genesee County Animal Control, said her department ordered the dog to be quarantined and said it is up to the owner on what to do with the dog.

A judge or the owner are the only ones with authority to take the dog away, Lazar said.

“At this time that is all we can do,”  Lazar said.

DeNasia was playing with the neighbor’s kids in the neighbor’s yard when the dog, which was running around in the yard, jumped on her and started biting her, according to Dotson.

Keskes who was in the yard, quickly went to DeNasia’s aid, she said.

Dotson was inside when she heard screaming and went out to look.

“She was holding a bag over her face and as soon as she pulled it down, it was horrible,” Dotson said.

DeNasia had gashes on her mouth and between her eye and nose.

She was taken first to a local hospital, then transported to the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor for treatment.

Keskes on Wednesday was apologetic about the attack.

“I still feel bad about it,” he said. “I have to look at her every day. I say sorry every time I can but I know that’s not going to change anything.”

(Flint Journal - July 27, 2011)

Flint girl mauled by pit bull, dog still on premises

FLINT, MI -- A vicious dog attack in a Flint neighborhood sent an eight-year-old girl to the hospital Friday night, and the pit bull responsible for the attack has still not been removed from the home.

Denasia Bolds was outside playing with friends, when a neighbor's pit bull got out and latched onto her face.

Bolds' facial injuries required 70 stitches.

Her mother called Genesee County Animal Control. They told her the dog would be allowed to stay with the neighbor, but would now have to be kept in a kennel, a practice called 'quarantining the dog.'

"This happened Friday and now today is what Monday? They still won't pick the dog up. I've called several times. They talk to me like it doesn't even matter, that they'll get to me whenever they decide to. The dog sits in my backyard, my daughter sees it everyday," says Denasia's mother, Christina Dotson.

This is a pathetic excuse of 'quarantining a dog'. First of all,
you cannot be permitted to leave a dog like this in the
summer heat locked in a crate. Second, the whole purpose
of a quarantine is to prevent any contact with people or
animals during the quarantine period.

NBC25 attempted to contact Genesee County Animal Control, but their office had closed for the day.

(Connect Mid Michigan - July 26, 2011)

Dogs Attack Handicapped Man Who Was Walking In Local Neighborhood

WACO, TX -- John Thomas Evans, 68, who witnesses said is a handicapped veteran who sometimes uses a wheelchair was attacked by two dogs Tuesday as he walked in the 900 block of Bosque Boulevard in Waco.

The attack was reported at around noon Tuesday.

A nearby resident who witnessed the attack grabbed a board and used it to beat the dogs back.

One of the dogs, described as a German shepherd mix, bit Evans in the side near the lower back.

The other dog, described as a pit bull mix, bit Evans in the head.

Evans was taken to Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center.

Animal control officers seized the two dogs.

It was the second dog attack in just a few hours Tuesday in Waco.

Earlier in the day, a Waco police officer was forced to shoot a pit bull that charged him, an animal control officer said.

Other details of that incident weren’t immediately available.

(KWTX - July 26, 2011)

Service Dog Attacked by Humane Society Pit bull is Still on the Road to Recovery

WADENA, MN -- The service dog that was attacked by a Wadena County Humane Society pit bull in June is on the road to recovery, but it has not been the smoothest ride for the border collie and her owner.

Patti Jones said her 7-year-old border collie, Cheyanne was sitting calmly at the Pet Expo in Wadena, when a pit bull came up and attacked her. And nearly two months and four vet visits later, she still suffering from the attack.

"I was hoping this would all be over with by now", Jones said.

Cheyanne suffered two puncture wounds to the neck and is now dealing with re-occurring cysts because of the wounds, that won't go way.

"One was like almost as big as my fist, and they said it was infected", Jones said.

Cheyanne has been to the vet 4 times since the attack to treat her wounds and cysts. She is also taking multiple medications to help her heal. And Jones said the long road to recovery is taking its toll on her pup. 

"She’s run down and now they've got her on some pain killers now for a couple days,” Jones said, “So she'll be droopy again".

Even though Jones has had her hands full taking care of Cheyanne during this tough time, it's the pile of medical bills that really have her stressed out. The Wadena Humane Society paid for the first vet visit, but she’s still waiting to be reimbursed for the rest.

"They said they have to have permission from the board in order to reimburse it so I have to wait for another board meeting", Jones said.

Jones said she’s grateful that they're covering the medical expenses, but there is still one thing that makes her upset.

"No apology yet,” Jones said.

But Jones said the most important thing is Cheyanne's health. And even though it's been a long, painful journey, she's sure that her pup will make it through.

"She’s a fighter,” Jones said, “Stubborn like me".

(KSAX - July 26, 2011)

Earlier Story:

• Service Dog Attacked by Humane Society Pit Bull, Owner Waits for Vet Bill Help, Apology

Dog shot dead after biting officer

LAS VEGAS, NV — A pit bull has been shot dead after getting in the middle of a police pursuit in North Las Vegas and attacking an officer.

The Las Vegas Sun reports the fatal encounter happened after a domestic disturbance call Monday morning.

Police spokesman Timothy Bedwell said a man involved in the disturbance ran out of the house and through the backyard.

A dog belonging to the home's residents bit an officer several times as the suspect fled over a fence.

The officer fatally shot the dog during the attack.

Police say the officer was taken to the hospital for treatment. Officials say his injuries are not life-threatening.

The suspect has not been found and is wanted for questioning.

(Las Vegas Sun - July 26, 2011)