Boy attacked by pit bull


By PAUL STONE
The Palestine Herald
January 15, 2008

An 8-year-old Anderson County boy suffered a "severe" arm injury late Sunday afternoon after authorities say he was bitten by a pit bull.

The incident occurred outside a residence in the 3000 block of CR 318, south of Frankston, around 4:45 p.m. Sunday, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

The boy was transported from the scene by ambulance to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler, according to the sheriff.

Taylor said he does not believe the boy's injury is life threatening.

"Apparently not," Taylor said. "They didn't life flight him (to Tyler). They took a ground ambulance."

The boy lives next door to the pit bull owner's house, according to Taylor. The female dog, who recently had puppies, typically stays inside the residence, but had been let outside to go to the bathroom, the sheriff added.

The boy was in the process of picking up a basketball when he was bitten by the pit bull, according to the sheriff.

"When he reached down to pick up the ball, the dog came around the dog house and got him on the arm," Taylor said.

The dog was chained at the time of the incident, according to Taylor.

The boy was freed from the dog in relatively quick fashion, said Taylor, who described the boy's injury as a "severe right forearm injury."

Although characterizing pit bulls as "unpredictable," Taylor said the pit bull's owners do not appear to have been negligent in the matter.

"It doesn't appear there was anything irresponsible," Taylor said. "It (the dog) was chained and it was in their back yard."

Due to the bite, the pit bull will be "quarantined" for 10 days, either at the Anderson County Humane Society Animal Shelter or a veternarian's office, according to Taylor.

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Dog bite victim recovering well

By PAUL STONE
The Palestine Herald
January 19, 2008

NECHES — An 8-year-old Anderson County boy who was bitten by a pit bull over the weekend is recovering and was expected to possibly return to school Thursday, according to local authorities.

The boy, who resides in the Frankston area, received a “severe right forearm injury” late Sunday afternoon when he was bitten by a female pit bull after walking into a neighbor’s yard to retrieve a ball, according to Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor.

The incident occurred outside a residence in the 3000 block of CR 318, south of Frankston, around 4:45 p.m. Sunday, according to the sheriff.

“I talked to his (the victim’s) stepfather,” Taylor said Thursday. “He had numerous, numerous stitches, but he’s OK.” Taylor said he was uncertain how many stitches were used to close the boy’s wound.

“He seems to be doing fine,” the sheriff stated. “He was going to go back to school, maybe today (Thursday).”

The boy lives next door to the pit bull owner’s house, according to Taylor. The dog, who recently had puppies, typically stays inside the residence, but had been let outside to go to the bathroom immediately before the incident, he added.

The dog was chained at the time of the incident and in its own back yard, according to Taylor, who has indicated authorities do not believe the dog’s owner was negligent in the matter.

In such bite cases, however, Taylor said the dog is “quarantined” for 10 days.

The dog’s owner has “surrendered” the pit bull to representatives of the Anderson County Humane Society, according to the sheriff. “That means he doesn’t want it back,” Taylor said.

“They normally destroy pit bulls because they can’t adopt them.”