Burton, SC Boy Mauled by Do

05/09/07 wtoc.com

An 11 year old Burton, SC boy is recovering at home tonight after he was mauled by a neighbor's dog. The dog, a pit bull/rottweiller/chow mix, attacked him while he was playing in the neighbor's backyard with the neighbor's children at Deerfield Estates mobile home park last night. The boy's family managed to pull the dog off, but the boy's injuries sent him to the emergency room for stitches.

"I was freaked out," admitted Zachary Haskett. "I was screaming at the top of my lungs."

Zachary Haskett considers himself very lucky to be here. He's bandaged, bruised, sore and still a bit shaken after his neighbor's dog, Chico, put an end to his basketball game with friends.

"All I did was shoot one hoop and all of a sudden, the dog came running after me like crazy," he said.

Zachary has the bite marks on his arm, chest, hip and leg, along with 15 stitches, to prove it.

"First, he grabbed me by the leg and started shaking my leg," Zachary explained. "It was crazy."

Zachary was in his neighbor's backyard, but said he was invited to play there by the neighbor's children. When the dog attacked him, he tried desperately to get the dog off and ended up limping, dragging the neighbor's dog with him, from his neighbor's backyard, into another backyard, and eventually into his own backyard.

Chico's owner, Ronnie Brown, III, who did not respond when we tried to contact him, is cooperating with Beaufort County Sheriff's deputies. He gave up ownership of the dog to Beaufort County Animal Control and faces more than $2,100 in fines for violating the leash law and not having the dog vaccinated against rabies. Without the rabies vaccine, Chico faces a worse fate. He'll be put down today. Although, for Zachary's mother, it's not enough.

"I'm really mad and I think the man should be in jail," Patti Spare said. "I think you're responsible for your animals. Six bite marks is not just a snip, warning the kid, "hey, I'm here." That's an attack."

The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said no criminal charges can be filed for animal bites; however, the family can take the dog's owner to court.

Reported by: Liz Flynn, lflynn@wtoc.com

Note: The article does not state that this dog was tethered. A supporter emailed the reporter and her response was "according to police, the dog had been tethered but broke free."