Pit Bull Severs Artery in 4-Year Old's Leg in Oconee County
Cameron May Come HomeUPDATE 09/02/08: Cameron may come home from the hospital soon. He has been recovering at the hospital since the attack. The incident occurred at April Stowe's home. Cameron's mother had stopped by with her son to visit Stowe when the dog suddenly attacked the boy. Stowe said her boyfriend owned the pit bull. She said the dog was always chained up, but his collar had broken.
The pit bull’s bite punctured the boy’s right femoral artery. "His jaws locked," Stowe said. "Somehow, she (the boy’s mother) kicked the dog in the nose and that made him let go." Sheriff’s deputies had to shoot the dog eight times to stop the animal. Stowe, who has two young children of her own, said she would never have another pit bull in her home again.
"It was so easy how he snapped," Stowe said.
08/23/08: Pit Bull Attacks Young ChildOconee County, SC - A 4-year-old boy was in serious condition at a local hospital on Saturday after being attacked by a pit bull. Paramedics said the dog was so aggressive that he even tried to bite the rescue workers. Cameron Salinas was attacked at a home in a rural part of the county. He and his mother were visiting April Stowe, the dog owner, at the time.
Blood covered Stowe's porch, where both women struggled to get the boy to safety. Salinas suffered bites to the thigh, backside and leg, where a major artery was severed. "Honestly, I thought the dog had done got him," Stowe said. "It scared me. I thought, from what I seen, I thought he'd done lost too much blood." Stowe was fined more than $1,200.
Deputies shot the dog eight times before killing it.
In other news:
Four-Year Old Injured While Visiting FriendsElizabethton, TN - In a similar attack, a 4-year old girl was bitten by a pit bull causing severe injuries to her face and neck which required plastic surgery. Carter County Sheriff’s Lt. Patrick Johnson said the girl was in the care of her aunt, April Patterson, at the time of the attack. Patterson took the girl to the residence of Donna Hudson and Derrick Presnell for a visit.
Johnson said, "Patterson said she had gotten her niece out of the car and was taking her up to the porch when the dog came out of the residence and knocked the girl to the ground and attacked her." The owners of the dog said it had never been aggressive toward children in the past. They told Johnson the dog was up to date on its shots, but could not provide records.
In the State of Tennessee, dog owners do not have liability if the attack occurs on owner property (there are also loopholes that only a PhD can understand). This little girl likely has zero civil recourse. It is unwise to take your child to the home of a pit bull or other dangerous dog owner.Omaha Police Firing on Pit BullsOmaha, NE - Omaha police say they have shot 39 dogs since 2007. Of those, 32 were pit bulls and one was a pit bull mix. Currently, a woman is suing the city for $250,000 because police killed her pit bull. Colleen M. Carroll recently filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the city and two police officers of violating her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure as a property and pet owner.
Argument Activates Flip SwitchScottsbluff, NE - Arguing and shouts can flip a pit bull into fight mode. There has been another example of this. Scottsbluff police shot and killed a pit bull after it mauled a woman and her daughter in the family's home. Police said the dog attacked Poster and her 16-year-old daughter, Tiffani Bowkett, when they started arguing. Both Poster and Bowkett suffered injuries and were taken to the hospital.
Related articles:08/04/08:
Triggers: What Prompts a Pit Bull to Attack?06/28/08:
Coverage of the Omaha Pit Bull Attack - DogsBite.org
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