AL: Child-biting dog returning to neighborhood

By Clyde L. Stancil, DAILY Staff Writer
June 16, 2004

CADDO — For the past week, life for the family of a dog-bite victim has been a waiting game. They're waiting until Friday, when the local health department will release the pit bull that bit their 12-year-old son, and they're waiting to see whether the dog's owner will put him on a leash, before they obtain a warrant for the owner's arrest.

Robert and Louan Rose said Monday that they have waited while the dog is in quarantine to see if it would develop rabies. So far it hasn't, and they haven't begun immunizations for their son. Immediately after the dog bit their son, Jared, the Roses asked officials to capture the dog and test it. They also asked them to see whether the dog's owner, Shane Peters, had vaccinated the animal prior to the bite.

Animal Shelter operator Carolyn Atchison said that Peters initially claimed that the dog had been immunized, but an area veterinarian told her that Peters brought the dog in for a shot the day after it bit Jared. That information, and unwillingness to test the dog for rabies, has left the Roses torn between beginning the injections to prevent rabies and waiting.

"You see the position I'm in," Louan Rose said. "They should have cut that dog's head off and sent it off (for rabies testing). It's a very tough decision I had to make. His nerves are on end; he's a child."

A woman who answered the phone at Peters' home said the family did not want to comment.

Atchison said the state veterinarian ordered her to euthanize the dog, but health department officials overruled the veterinarian. "The State of Alabama made the decision not to put it down because there is no reason," she said. "We can quarantine the dog to see of he shows signs (of rabies)." There is a procedure to test the dog's blood for rabies without killing it, but Atchison said that none of the area veterinarians or officials know how to do it.

Atchison quarantined the dog June 7, one day after parents say the female pit bull bit Jared on the leg as he tried to escape over a fence. It was the second time that the dog bit a child within a month. Atchison and the Roses said the dog bit another boy May 14 as he rode his bike along Lawrence County 556 and 557. Despite the two bites, Atchison said she doesn't want the dog to die.

"She has rights, too," Atchison said. "There is something that has happened to make her dislike children." She said that the dog had a 2-week-old puppy that she was trying to protect, and that Peters told her that the neighborhood children throw firecrackers and shoot bottle rockets at the dog. As proof, Atchison said that there were numerous spent fireworks in Peters' yard.

She said children have traumatized the dog, which now causes it to attack them. Atchison called it "learned behavior," and said the dog has not attempted to bite anyone since she quarantined it. But because of the learned behavior, Atchison said she thinks the dog will bite again. Lawrence County does not have a leash law, so there is nothing to force Peters to restrict the dog.

Jared Rose said he didn't participate in the fireworks incidents, and he said that the pit bull has been chasing children in the neighborhood ever since Peters brought it home, before it had a puppy or any fireworks were shot. An adult neighbor said that the dog stalked her as she rode her mower around her yard.

Like Atchison, the Roses said they are sure that the dog will bite again. They approached the Lawrence County Commission on Monday to see what they could do to prevent the dog's release into the community. Commissioners read the law regarding responsible dog ownership, but said the matter was one for law enforcement.

"The (owner) knows that the dog bites," Robert Rose said. "I've tried talking to the man, but to no avail. What's going to happen is it's going to maul a child or maim him for life. My wife has called (authorities) and she's been led in circles."

Source: THE DECATUR DAILY