Pit Bull Kills Toddler


Thursday, Dec 13, 2007
By Meryl Conant
www.wcbd.com

According to the Dorchester County Coroner, a pit bull mauled a 2-year-old boy to death.
 
A sign posted at the home in Summerville saying “Beware of Dog” never had so much meaning as right now.
 
“It's a very horrible thing. I don't know what to think. I  am still stunned,” said Kelly Jernigan who had just wrapped Christmas presents for her nephew, two-year-old Holden Jernigan. Now, she is preparing for his funeral. “He is going to be missed so much and if any of you were to meet him you would known he was fun-loving.”
 
Deputies say Jernigan's maternal grandmother was babysitting him here at her house when the toddler wandered outside unnoticed. That is when a 40-pound pit bull bit the boy's neck and head, killing him before rescue crews arrived.
 
“How is your family holding it together?” asked reporter Meryl Conant.
 
“Not very well,” Jernigan explained. “But together as a family we will be there for each other.”
 
One neighbor said she has seen the pit bull roaming in the area before and feared for the safety of children in the neighborhood.
 
But deputies say when they arrived the dog was chained in a fenced backyard. That dog now is in quarantine. No word on what will happen to it.
 
Deputies say no charges are pending right now but the investigation in ongoing. As far as past violations, Animal Control says they are looking through their files now but have had no recent calls to this home.