7-year-old girl recuperating after dog attack; animal will be destroyed


July 7, 2007
By Rob Schneider
rob.schneider@indystar.com

A 7-year-old Westside girl was recovering at home Friday after a chow mix bit her arm while she played in her yard.

Cassidy Jones was with her two brothers, Casey, 11, and Corey, 9, when the dog came into the yard dragging a 20-foot chain from its collar and attacked Cassidy, said her father, Rob Jones.

Jones, 38, was on his way home when the attack occurred between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Jones home in the 1300 block of South Whitcomb Avenue. When Jones arrived, emergency medical technicians were working on his daughter, who was taken to Methodist Hospital.

The dog had ripped off 5 to 6 inches of skin from Cassidy's left arm, and the wound was deep enough to see the bone, according to a report by the Department of Public Safety's Animal Care and Control officers. She also had a bruise above her right eye and blood coming from an earlobe.

"They've got it pretty well fixed," Jones said of his daughter, who watched cartoons on TV as he talked. "There is going to be some big scars we'll have to deal with. . . . They said there shouldn't be any problems with movement or mobility. That's what had me worried."

When the attack occurred, Cassidy's brothers tried to pull the dog off using the chain, but the little girl was able to free herself from the dog, Jones said. The boys then tied the end of the chain to the porch so the dog couldn't get away.

The animal control officer used a dart to tranquilize the animal, which was found under the porch of the home. The dog was described as a 2-year-old that had not been neutered.

The dog had escaped from its yard in the 1400 block of Lindley Avenue, several blocks from the Jones home, on Wednesday, according to a report by the dog's owner, Anthony M. Maled, 22, to an animal control officer.

Dogs that have been spayed or neutered are often more docile, said Media Wilson, a spokeswoman for Animal Care and Control. If an animal caught by an animal-control officer hasn't been spayed or neutered, the staff will work with the owner to have the operation done, she said.

Maled surrendered the dog to be destroyed by Animal Care and Control. He also received five citations, including one for "owner's responsibility," meaning his dog bit someone, Wilson said.
If he's found guilty of the infraction, the minimum fine is $500.

Call Star reporter Rob Schneider at (317) 444-6278.