Dog Bite Law | New York

Brooklyn Boy Mauled to Death by Cane Corso Mastiff

Admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:02:23 +0000

A 4-year-old boy was mauled to death by a family dog as he and his two brothers played in a bedroom of their apartment in Brooklyn, the authorities said on Saturday.

Saquina Jubeark, the mother of a boy killed by a family dog, being helped down the stairs of her Brooklyn apartment on Saturday by her grandfather, Ameer Jamaal-Uddin.

Ameer Jamaal-Uddin holds an image of his great-grandson, Jayelin Graham, who was mauled to death by a dog on Friday night.

The boy, Jayelin Graham, suffered “multiple bite wounds” on his head, his neck and other parts of his body, said a law enforcement official.

The attack occurred about 9:20 p.m. Friday in the family’s first-floor apartment, at 2169 Pacific Street, in Brownsville, the police said. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office and the city’s health department were investigating.

Detectives and a spokesman for Animal Care and Control of New York City could not say what caused the dog, a male Cane Corso who is 7 or 8 years old, to attack.

The boy’s mother, Saquina Jubeark, told investigators the attack occurred after she and her children had returned home from a shopping trip. Jayelin and two of his brothers, ages 2 and 5, had gone into a bedroom.

Ms. Jubeark, who had her 10-month-old daughter in her arms, realized she had left keys in a stroller in the hallway and went to get them. At some point, the law enforcement official said, she noticed it was very quiet and “opened the bedroom door and noticed the dog standing over Jayelin and biting him.”

The other children were hiding by the bed.

Ms. Jubeark tried to pull the dog off, but “the dog resists and turns on her a little,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

A neighbor, hearing Ms. Jubeark’s screams, called 911. Jayelin was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the police said.

Emergency workers arrived quickly, said Kenneth Risher, the superintendent of the three-story building, but he added it took them about 20 minutes to remove the boy from the apartment.

Officers from the police’s Emergency Service Unit tranquilized the Cane Corso, a mastiff variety. Both the Cane Corso and a second dog, a Husky mixed breed, were taken to a shelter on 110th Street, off First Avenue, on Saturday, said Richard P. Gentles, the spokesman for the animal care agency.

“This was a tragedy waiting to happen,” Mr. Risher, 50, said. He said the boy’s family had lived in the apartment for three years and had several other pets, including dogs, a parrot, turtles and fish. He said Ms. Jubeark had run from her apartment screaming. “She was saying: ‘Help me! Help me! The dog bit my baby!’ ”

Another neighbor, who provided only his first name, Jah, said he had run into Ms. Jubeark’s apartment, where he saw the dog holding the boy by the throat. Jah said he yelled at the dog, but it crouched down as if it were going to attack, so he retreated. When he returned a few minutes later, he said, the child was lying on the floor.

“The right part of his neck was ripped open,” Jah, 29, said. “There was blood all the way from his neck to his abdomen.”

Michael Dorkings, a Fire Department lieutenant from Engine 227, said his men used a Halligan bar and another tool to force the dog back while Firefighter David Kelly grabbed the boy.

Ameer Jamaal-Uddin, 59, Jayelin’s great-grandfather, said the dogs belonged to Ms. Jubeark’s boyfriend. Mr. Risher said the boyfriend was often seen with a protective guard on his arm, training the dogs to bite in front of the building. “Everybody would run when he came out,” Mr. Risher said.

He said one of the dogs killed the family’s pet rabbit a few months ago. “He killed the rabbit and left everything on the floor,” he said. “It was like the Bronx Zoo in there.”

A law enforcement official said someone from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services had gone to the home for “something minor” in the past, but “nothing involving the dog.” Elysia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the agency, declined to say whether it had a history with the family, but said the agency was “investigating the child’s death.”

Jah said that when police officers arrived, a friend of his told them the dog had to be killed. When Jah’s friend took a step toward the officers, a scuffle ensued. The police said several people were issued summonses.

Pregnant Woman Killed by Pit Bull

Admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 21:55:46 +0000

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Preliminary autopsy results show that a pregnant San Francisco-area woman who was killed by her pit bull died from blood loss and shock, police said on Monday.

An autopsy on 32-year-old Darla Napora, along with analysis by dog bite experts, also concluded that only one of her two dogs, a 2-year-old male named Gunner, took part in last Thursday’s fatal attack.

Police say Napora’s husband returned to the couple’s home in the Bay Area village of Pacifica about noon on Thursday to find his pregnant wife’s mauled body, with the bloodied pit bull standing over her.

First responders failed to revive Napora, who was suffering from massive trauma to her upper body, police say, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, along with her unborn baby, Pacifica police said.

Gunner was shot and killed by officers in the front yard of the couple’s home after he apparently got free from a back room, where Napora’s husband had tried to confine him, police said.

A second pit bull, a female, was found cowering in a corner.

Impressions taken from both dogs show that all of Napora’s injuries were consistent with bites from Gunner and that there was no evidence that the female dog took part in the attack, Pacifica police said.

Pacifica Police Capt. Dave Bertini said that authorities were still trying to determine why Napora’s dog attacked her.

“We may never know why it happened,” Bertini said, adding that the couple was keeping both pit bulls as pets.

Bertini said there was so far no evidence to indicate that the dogs had been trained to be aggressive.

New Jersey Dog Bite Victim Recovers While Dog is Banished

Admin — Sat, 28 May 2011 23:01:17 +0000

RIVER VALE, NJ — A service dog accused of biting the nose of a 6-year-old neighbor last month will be banished from the township under a settlement agreement reached Tuesday between the girl’s parents and the dog’s owners.

The dog, a 14-month-old German shepherd named Ava, lived with a 9-year-old cancer patient, Molly Kimball, and her family, and has been trained to steady Molly whenever she shows signs of dizziness — a symptom caused by tumors inside her brain.

In an incident in March, Ava allegedly lunged at Isabelle Gernhardt, 6, who lives next door to Molly and her parents, Paul and Patricia. The dog bit Isabelle’s face, and she sustained a large gash that runs from her forehead down the bridge of her nose. It took more than 100 stitches to close the wound.

Molly sobbed inconsolably during a hearing in Municipal Court in River Vale on Tuesday as her father stroked her back and her hair. The resolution calls for the dog to be removed on Wednesday morning from a private shelter in River Vale, where it has been staying since the attack.

For now, Ava will stay with friends of the Kimballs’ in Edgewater.

With the matter resolved, Municipal Judge Richard Greenhalgh did not have to determine whether Ava is a vicious animal.

The judge did note that the language of the settlement agreement did not preclude the Gernhardts from pursuing civil action against the Kimballs. Evan Baker, the attorney who represented the Gernhardts, said a lawsuit would be filed to recoup medical expenses resulting from the bite.

Doug Anton, an attorney who represents Molly’s parents, claims Ava never showed signs of aggression before Isabelle was injured.

Anton said Ava was leashed at the time, but was playing a game of hide-and-seek with Isabelle. When the dog tried to playfully lick Isabelle’s face, he said, “the choker collar caused a restriction on the neck that causes the mouth to close.”

Isabelle’s mother, Elizabeth Gernhardt, said the dog nicked her son’s face last fall, and that her daughter was not playing with Ava.

“She has never played with that dog,” Gernhardt said. Ava, she said, “was unleashed and trespassed on our property. My daughter didn’t make any sudden moves. She won’t even pet the dog.”

Isabelle will undergo a number of operations to repair the damage and is in counseling for post-traumatic stress, her mother said. She did not call for the dog to be put down, but insisted that the animal not return to her neighborhood.

The incident has put a strain on what was an otherwise friendly relationship with her neighbors, Gernhardt said.

BY CHRIS HARRIS

STAFF WRITER

THE RECORD

Toddler Bit by Pitbull

Admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 04:42:58 +0000

Toddler hospitalized after pit bull attacks her for second time in two years

NORWALK

by STEVE KOBAK

A 2-year-old toddler was hospitalized Wednesday morning after she was attacked by her grandmother’s pit bull, marking the second time in the span of a year that the dog has attacked the toddler, police said.

The toddler suffered facial injuries and was treated at Norwalk Hospital.

A 4-year-old white pit bull terrier named Spot bit the left side of the victim’s face at 8:45 a.m., according to police.

Police say the victim’s grandmother and her mother were not in the room with the child when the attack occurred. They came rushing into the room after hearing the child’s screams and found the victim laying on a bed, bleeding from the face while the dog was laying next to her, according to police.

An Animal Control Officer responded to the incident and quarantined the dog until June 9.

The Youth Bureau of the Norwalk Police Department is investigating the matter further, and the dog owner may face criminal charges.

The pit bull previously attacked the toddler in June 2010 after the child approached the dog’s bowl while the dog was eating, police said. The toddler — then just 1 year old — suffered injuries to her head, according to police.

5-Year-Old Boy Bitten by a Pit Bull Returns Home

admin — Thu, 26 May 2011 01:04:48 +0000

ATLANTA – The 5-year-old southwest Atlanta boy bitten by a pit bull on Monday night was released from the hospital on Thursday.

FOX 5 caught up with Marquez Broner after his release from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Egleston to treat those bites. He said he was playing his front yard Monday night when his parents pulled into the driveway of his Lexington Avenue home. Broner ran up to greet them, but was attacked by the dog.

His aunt, Victoria Broner, said he is a good boy and an honor student at Gideons Elementary School. His teacher, Reginald Little, came by to visit with get well card signed by all his classmates. His family said he will have to spend the next few weeks resting and will probably have to miss the rest of the school year.

The Fulton County Animal Control, who took possession of the dog, said they will probably put the pit bull down since his owner has not come forward.

Fox Video of Dog Bite Story Below

5-Year-Old Boy Attacked by Pit Bull Returns Home: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Father Saves Son from Dog Attack

admin — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:13:31 +0000

A father who saved his son from a vicious dog bite attack holds him.

Deputy Shoots pitbull after being attacked

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 18:03:51 +0000

BAKERSFIELD – On May 10, 2011 at approximately 4:45 p.m., deputies from the Taft Substation responded to the 100 block of Eastern Avenue in South Taft to assist the Taft Police Department with an investigation. During the investigation, a Taft Substation deputy was attacked by a large pitbull and was bitten underneath his right arm. After being bitten, the deputy fired his handgun striking the dog. The dog died at the scene. The deputy was transported to a local hospital and treated for his injuries.

Arkansas Dog Attack

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 11:05:04 +0000

GARLAND COUNTY, Arkansas — Charges have been filed against a dog owner after police say his pit bull escaped and attacked an elderly woman in her front yard Tuesday morning.

A 72-year-old Garland County woman is recovering from a dog attack. The mauling is re-stirring debate over leash laws in the county.

Shirley Miller’s family says her injuries are as bad as they can be. In fact, right now they say it’s touch and go. The good news is that she is out of ICU. However, the debate continues about whether this attack could have been prevented.

Miller’s garden is just as she left it. Her neighbor Kelly Suit says she was tending to it when Garland County deputies say a dog brutally mauled her.

“I mean I never thought this would happen in my yard,” says Suit. “I would speculate that probably the worst thing for a woman is for her face to be mutilated.”

She’s being treated at St. Joseph’s Mercy. Miller’s granddaughter Ashlea Beene says a child likely wouldn’t have survived such an attack.

“It’s as bad as you can imagine it,” says Beene. “Most of the trauma was to her head neck and throat area just as you would expect an animal to do.”

Beene says her family is concerned about infection. Authorities say the dog’s owner Ricky Anderson, who lives across the street, didn’t have proof his dog was vaccinated. It one of two things deputies cited him for.

For years people have debated whether Garland County needs a leash law. Currently there isn’t one, but there is a Vicious Dog Act and a Nuisance Dog Act.

Garland County Justice Mary Bournival says she supports a plan to hold dog owners accountable if their pet viciously attacks.

“We’re going to recommend a $1,000 dollar fine. Some people think that’s a little high, but that’s the fine you get for littering and I think this is a lot more serious than littering,” says Bournival.

She says its time to take action so no one else is brutalized where they should feel safe.

Some neighbors expressed concern about how long it took an ambulance to get to Miller. A LifeNet supervisor says they got there in 21 minutes, which he says is standard for that part of the county.

The dog’s owner killed the dog after the attack. Bournival says the county committee on public safety is set to discuss implementing the $1,000 fine for owners of dogs that attack at the next meeting. The county attorney is already reviewing the proposal.

Marion Police Officers Bit by a Dog

Admin — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:33:56 +0000

Two Marion police officers were bit by a dog while executing a search warrant Monday morning in Cedar Rapids.

Two Marion police officers were bit by a dog while executing a search warrant Monday morning in Cedar Rapids.

The injuries were not serious and happened while police served a warrant concerning possession of stolen property at 930 Ninth Ave. SE, police said.

Marion police Lt. Scott Elam said one officer was bit on the leg, and the other was bit on the hand. Both were seen by medics at the scene.

At least six young people in the house were detained for questioning, and charges were pending, Elam said. He said the dog bit an officer as he was trying to subdue a young man outside the house.

“The suspect was not being overly cooperative, and when the officer started grabbing the guy, I think the dog just reacted to the owner being grabbed,” Elam said.

Police said the dog appeared to be a pit bull. Animal control officers took it away.

More details about the incident were expected to be released later Monday.

“We’re still trying to sort everything out,” Elam said.

Link to Original Article

Jason Stern Publishes Dog Bite Book

admin — Fri, 20 May 2011 08:14:01 +0000

New York Dog Bite Attorney Jason Stern published his new dog bite book ‘When Dogs Attack: A Victim’s Guide to Dog Bites’ earlier today.