Monticello Neigbhorhood Wounded After Pit Bull Attacks 5-year-old Girl
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: November 29, 2012
Emotions have been running high in the Sherwood Forest subdivision in Monticello after a five-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull next door.
"I'm sad and scared," said Lajovian Ware.
Ware's sister, five-year-old Mimi, was bitten by the pitbull that lives next door as she was walking to her school bus stop on Wednesday morning.
"Her whole leg was bleeding," Ware said. "All I could do was yell at my mom that the dog was eating her."
The dog broke her ankle before another neighbor from across the street and the girl's mother were able to get the dog to release the little girl. She's undergone surgery and is recovering at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
"This could be a very tragic event," said Bishop Sam Wherry.
Wherry's grandchildren live in the subdivision, and he's beginning to fear for their safety.
"I have a grandson that lives two doors up and this same animal tried to attack he and his mom," Wherry said. "These dogs aren't in fences. They're just on chains.They get loose, and all of a sudden you have a child mauled."
He believes federal regulations restrict breeds like pit bulls from even being on the premises.
"I remember looking through the subdivision guidelines. No, dogs cannot be here," he said.
These houses were funded with subsidies through the Farmer's Home Program, which eventually became the Rural Development program under the USDA's direction.
But officials could say for sure whether there were or still are restrictions for pets.
"We need help in trying to solve this before these innocent children become injured," Wherry said.
Monticello does have a vicious dog ordinance requiring aggressive breeds to be chained up or fenced in.
The owners of the animal involved in the attack declined to speak to KARK on camera. However, they say the animal was chained up the entire time. They hope for a speedy recovery for the child, but insist they weren't negligent.
The girl and eyewitnesses, however, say the dog was roaming free around the neighborhood when the attack occurred.
"She said the dog had dragged her out the road and started to bite her on the leg," Ware said.
Either way, a small child remains severely injured, leaving deep wounds in her neighborhood as well.
Police are investigating the timeline of events. The police report notes officers found the animal chained to a boat in the back yard after receiving the call, and that the animal was growling at them.
The dog was removed from the property and is required to remain in quarantine for at least 10 days. They are also investigating allegations that this dog has attacked other children in the subdivision prior to this event.
"I'm sad and scared," said Lajovian Ware.
Ware's sister, five-year-old Mimi, was bitten by the pitbull that lives next door as she was walking to her school bus stop on Wednesday morning.
"Her whole leg was bleeding," Ware said. "All I could do was yell at my mom that the dog was eating her."
The dog broke her ankle before another neighbor from across the street and the girl's mother were able to get the dog to release the little girl. She's undergone surgery and is recovering at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
"This could be a very tragic event," said Bishop Sam Wherry.
Wherry's grandchildren live in the subdivision, and he's beginning to fear for their safety.
"I have a grandson that lives two doors up and this same animal tried to attack he and his mom," Wherry said. "These dogs aren't in fences. They're just on chains.They get loose, and all of a sudden you have a child mauled."
He believes federal regulations restrict breeds like pit bulls from even being on the premises.
"I remember looking through the subdivision guidelines. No, dogs cannot be here," he said.
These houses were funded with subsidies through the Farmer's Home Program, which eventually became the Rural Development program under the USDA's direction.
But officials could say for sure whether there were or still are restrictions for pets.
"We need help in trying to solve this before these innocent children become injured," Wherry said.
Monticello does have a vicious dog ordinance requiring aggressive breeds to be chained up or fenced in.
The owners of the animal involved in the attack declined to speak to KARK on camera. However, they say the animal was chained up the entire time. They hope for a speedy recovery for the child, but insist they weren't negligent.
The girl and eyewitnesses, however, say the dog was roaming free around the neighborhood when the attack occurred.
"She said the dog had dragged her out the road and started to bite her on the leg," Ware said.
Either way, a small child remains severely injured, leaving deep wounds in her neighborhood as well.
Police are investigating the timeline of events. The police report notes officers found the animal chained to a boat in the back yard after receiving the call, and that the animal was growling at them.
The dog was removed from the property and is required to remain in quarantine for at least 10 days. They are also investigating allegations that this dog has attacked other children in the subdivision prior to this event.
Comments
Unfortunately, pitbull advocates have a very well organized world wide pitbull lobby supported by dog fighters, breeders, and those who use the fad to line their pockets. They are not at all concerned with human lifes. They distort facts regularly. For example they will say bans on pitbulls do not work by providing dog bite statistics from areas with growing populations (and of course growing dog bites along with it) and then say this is prooff that regulations don't work. They don't say anything about MAULINGS. They don't mention areas like Miami Dade Florida that has a successful pitbull ban that has kept its residents maul free for 23 wonderful years. They have their own fake but official sounding organization to tell the world pitbulls are sweet: the national canine research council and greedy nonproifts that take in millions from animals lovers like ASPCA, tell officials it is all in how you raise them which is a big lie. ASPCA was investigated by CNN. It was uncovered that the supposed nonprofit took in 14 million dollars for pets and spent less than 1 million helping pets! PETA is the only animal welfare organization that is legit. PETA supports a ban on pitbulls to protect people and to protect pitbulls from the constant overbreeding (over one million pitbulls are euthanized voluntarily by owners in the U.S.) and use in dog fighting. The supposed rescues are in it for the money. They are against regulations to stop the over breeding. Visit www.dogsbite.org and get involved with neighbors to make a lot of sustained noise. Make sure that leaders keep nonlocals from misrepresenting themselves at local meetings. Keep on it and work hard as the pitbull problem is fueled by greed and people who follow reality t.v. and think it is reality. Maryland passed laws extending liablity in pitbull attacks to landlords. This family needs to contact dogsbite.org and talk to other victms and find a good lawyer. The city should be sued too for not taking care of this dog before it left this child with an attack that will scar her physically and emotionally forever. These attacks are happening in all neighborhoods, rich, poor, white, black, and Hispanic. No place is safe from pitbulls anymore. Kids are being attacked on school buses. Seniors are shredded checking their mail. Recently a 12 year old boy in Hot Springs Arksansa was castrated by a pitbull. Voters need to get very loud and stop being idle as after a loved one is attacked you can't turn back the clock. Many of the children are horrifically disfigured for life. The excuses for pitbull maulings are many but that is all they are, excuses. Mortality, Mauling and Maiming by Vicious Dogs, Annals of Surgery, April 2011 found that a person is losing a body part to a pitbull every 4 days now, and it found that you have a more than 2500 times higher chance of dying if attacked by a pitbull instead of a Labador Reriever. Pitbulls turn on a dime and attack people that they had lived with and acted affectionately towards in the past. Pitbulls were created by evil people for evil dog fighting centuries ago. Evil begets evil. The time to speak out against pitbulls was yesterday. Now its time to make a whole lot of noise until bans on the breed protect people from random maulings and protect the dogs from people.
Joan J.
December 6, 2012 at 2:03 am
How strange that the pit fans aren't showing up in crowds here to defend the poor, poor pittie-poo. Maybe because they know this is indefensible. Or maybe because this was 'only' an African American child -- and since the pit bull is the original Ku Klux [censored] dog, the real fans laugh in their fist when yet another black child is savaged by one?
My own reaction: If this attack didn't violate any laws, then the law needs to be changed so that such an attack does. Pit bull type dogs need to be banned, and possession of one made into a felony. Any owner of such a [censored] dog needs to be prosecuted if the dog attacks, as if the owner herself had committed the maiming or dismembering (or murder). Landlords who don't MAKE SURE there are no pit-bull type dogs on their rented premises need to be made strictly liable for all costs (to the end of time) the attack burdens the victim with. Be it hospital and multiple plastic surgeries, be it funeral costs.
As voters, we have to start letting our politicians feel we will not tolerate their continuing pandering to the crowd that is in love with this [censored] dog. If they don't choose the side of our children (black and white) above the monster dog lobby, they will be out of a job at the very next election.
I know I sound emotional, but this attack enraged me. How DARE the pit fans talk about 'racism' when we want to ban their [censored] killer dogs? If this particular pit bull isn't put down, and its owner and the landlord made to pay, this will be an unutterable act of racism on the part of the state of Arkansas.
Yoka S.
December 3, 2012 at 3:08 am
