Boy in fair condition after dog attack

^{Spencer Roush, [email protected]5:07 p.m. EDT April 27, 2015}

LANCASTER – A 7-year-old boy was flown to Nationwide Children’s Hospital after he was viciously bitten in the face by a dog Sunday night, according to Lancaster police.

“He’s a strong little boy, and he’s going to be fine,” said Ashley Robinson, the boy’s mother, on Monday.

Police reported that the boy, identified as Cole Robinson, looked down at the dog and it bit him on his face around 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Police responded to an apartment in the 400 block of O’Gara Avenue where the attack occurred, and a helicopter landed in Miller Park to fly the boy to Columbus for treatment.

As for the dog, the Fairfield County Dog Shelter responded to the apartment to collect it. On Monday, dog shelter officials declined to comment on the case, saying the investigation is ongoing and they have yet to speak to the victim’s mother. By looking at the pictures, police said it appears to be an American pitbull terrier mix.

Robinson told the Eagle-Gazette that the dog belongs to a family member and does not have a history of aggression.

“(The dog) was a puppy, and he grew up with my little boy,” she explained, adding that to her knowledge, her son did nothing to provoke the dog and she isn’t sure why the dog attacked him.

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7-Year-Old Seriously Injured in Attack by Family Dog

^{ABC 6 – 4/27/15}

LANCASTER (Tom Bosco) — A seven-year-old boy was taken by helicopter to a hosptial and underwent nine hours of surgery after being bitten by a family dog in Lancaster Sunday night. Cole Robinson was bitten in the head, face, and neck, said his grandma, Kathy Fletcher.

“It was awful,” Fletcher said. “I thought I might lose him.”

Fletcher said the child was sitting on the couch, while the dog laid at his feet. When the child moved suddenly, the dog attacked and bit him. The dog belongs to the child’s Uncle.

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Dog euthanized after attacking child

^{Spencer Roush}^{, [email protected]}^{6:21 a.m. EDT April 29, 2015}

LANCASTER – The owner of a dog that bit a 7-year-old boy’s face at a Lancaster residence on Sunday night asked authorities to euthanize it, according to dog shelter officials.

Fairfield County Dog Warden Tod McCullough said the dog was euthanized Monday afternoon after its owner, a relative of the injured 7-year-old, Cole Robinson, requested it.

“It’s just an unfortunate situation,” McCullough said. “Our thoughts really are with the family.”

Typically, when there is an attack like the one that occurred on Sunday in the 400 block of O’Gara Avenue, the Fairfield County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center investigates to determine whether the dog should be on the vicious dog list.

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American Pit Bull Terrier

The American Pit Bull Terrier is, like all the ‘bully’ breeds, one of this group of descendants of the British ‘bull and terrier’ type fighting bulldogs. Once imported into the United States, it was bred up to be bigger again, and again used in baiting animals and in dogfighting. The American Kennel Club (founded 1884) was unwilling to register these fighting dogs, so in 1898 the United Kennel Club was founded specifically to register working pit-fighting dogs and to promote dogfighting. In order to be registered, a dog had to first win three pit fights^7,8,9. The American Pit Bull Terrier (APBT) became a ‘breed’. As dogfighting declined in popularity in the 1930s and 1940s, Colby (the most famous and prolific breeder of these dogs) began to search for a new market and began promoting the APBT as family pets^10,11. This despite the fact that his breeding lines included child killers¹².

The APBT is of medium intelligence, and it is athletic. They have plenty of energy and exuberance for life. They are affectionate companions are often referred to as a “nanny dog”, which leads many families to believe that they are suitable companions for children. Many can live happily with children and never have an issue, but there are many cases of the family pit bull suddenly attacking or killing a child in the household. The Pit Bull advocacy group BADRAP recently retracted their original “nanny dog” statements (https://www.facebook.com/BADRAP.org/posts/10151460774472399)¹³.In 2013 and 2014, in the United States, 27 children were killed by Pit Bulls and their mixes. Most of these children were killed by family pet pit bulls that had never been neglected or abused and had always loved the child. As with all breeds, the traits needed for their original tasks remain in the dogs – in this case, the sudden explosive aggression that was necessary to survive in the fighting pit. An APBT may never show this aggression, but if it does there will be no warning and the attack will not be easy to stop. Extreme caution should always be taken when this breed interacts with children. They are fun loving dogs that have “clownish” behaviors. Despite, their many positive qualities, this breed may not be suitable for everyone. Their high energy requires a family that can accommodate and appreciate this aspect of their personality. They usually do best with active families. Many American Pit Bull Terriers get calmer as they age and an older dog may work for a more reserved family.

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POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS DOG BREEDS

This is a list of dog breeds that have a history of being potentially dangerous to people, especially children. Daxton’s Friends for Canine Education and Awareness understands that any dog has the ability to bite or inflict serious harm to humans. This list consists of several dog breeds that have a higher than average number of recorded human fatalities. Please use extreme caution if you choose to bring one of these breeds into your home. Rental communities and homeowners insurance may restrict many of the dog breeds on this list due to the likelihood of a serious incident.

Pit Bulls, Mastiff, and Rottweiler lead in fatalities and are listed first. The rest of the breeds are listed in alphabetical order:

Pit Bull Terrier Family

Mastiffs

Doberman Pinscher

German Shepherd

Shar Pei

Siberian Husky

Wolf Hybrid

OHIO – Sub. H.B. 14 – 129th General Assembly

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The Pit Bull lobby – Jane Berkey, Animal Farm Foundation, Karen Delise, The National Canine Research Council, Indeterminate Breeds

If you are reading this, you probably used the NCRC (National Canine Research Council) as your “credible” source of information regarding the pit bull issue.

I’ve wanted to blog about this for a long time now. I must give credit where credit is due. Much of the content of this blog post was gathered or provided by fellow advocates of the Victims Of Dangerous Dogs Advocacy Network. It was my undertaking to pull it all together. If you are an elected official and are about to vote on Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), I wrote this blog for you. You need to read this blog in its entirety.

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