UPDATED: 5:00 pm CDT June 27, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. -- A woman whose pit bill attacked a toddler on Wednesday said she is asking for forgiveness from the girl's parents.
Parents Talk About Injury - Wendy and Aaron Blevins said they are coping as best they can. On Wednesday, their 15-month-old daughter, Charlotte, was attacked by a pit bull and nearly scalped. "My husband made fun of me in a nice way," Wendy Blevins said on Friday. "He goes, 'You're like a parrot. You just keep talking.' I said, 'I have to. If I don't, I see my daughter's head and I can't do that because she's going to be OK.'"
On Wednesday afternoon, Charlotte was riding in a wagon her mother was pulling when a pit bull came out of its collar and attacked the girl. Tina Agerson, the dog's owner, was ticketed. Agerson said her dog was friendly, and she was shocked by his action. She said he's been destroyed and she's reaching out to the Blevins, hoping for forgiveness.
"It was a tragedy -- a freak accident," Agerson told KETV NewsWatch 7 on Friday. "I take full responsibility for what happened to the little girl and the other family members."
Wendy Blevins, 29, said she and her friend, Carley, were walking with their toddlers. "We just put the kids in the wagon and were going for a walk. We saw the lady with her dog and we stopped," Wendy Blevins said. All four walkers were hurt, but Charlotte suffered the worst injuries. "I watched her -- my daughter -- get scalped, basically," Wendy Blevins said through tears.
Charlotte underwent surgery to reattach her scalp at Creighton University Medical Center. The surgeon who stitched the girl up, Dr. Amardip Bhuller, said one-third of her scalp is missing and the injury cut through several layers of the scalp. She was in surgery for two to three hours on Wednesday.
The Blevins said they have heard from Agerson. "We're just trying to sort out our thoughts and feelings," Aaron Blevins said.
The doctor said the reattached scalp only covers about 80 percent of the injury. Doctors will wait to see if Charlotte's body accepts the new skin and watch for infection, which is a higher risk with dog bites. Bhuller said a second surgery is scheduled for Monday. Over the long term, Charlotte faces many surgeries to expand her scalp where she was injured. "I think we have several years of surgery to expand the scalp to cover where this injury is. The idea is to get her where hair is growing," Bhuller said. The doctor said he hopes to have the process complete before Charlotte starts school.
First National Bank and US Bank are accepting donations for the Blevins family.
Copyright 2008 by KETV.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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NE: Sentencing Delayed in Dog Attack Case
Posted: 6:17 PM Dec 4, 2008
Last Updated: 6:21 PM Dec 4, 2008
A two-year-old heartland girl continues to recover -- but the court case surrounding a terrible dog attack drags on. Tina Agerson was to be sentenced Thursday - it was her dog that ripped Charlotte Blevin's scalp from her head. But the sentencing has been delayed. Confusion - and a last minute switch in judges meant Tina Agerson had to keep walking past television cameras. It's the kind of attention she doesn't like - but it's the place Agerson's found herself ever since her pit bull duke mauled Charlotte Blevins this past June.
“My daughter is doing great. She’s doing really good, thank you,” said Charlotte’s mother, Wendy Blevins. The two week delay also means Blevins has to wait a little longer to find out Agerson's punishment for harboring a dangerous animal and possession of a menacing animal - the charges Agerson plead "no contest" to back in September.
Blevins wants to ensure no other heartland family has to go through this - she's asking the judge to keep Agerson away from dogs for 10 years. Blevins said, “If Duke was raised a certain way then process of elimination, then I’m sure the other dogs in her care probably would be raised the same way and I don’t think it’s healthy for the dog and puts other people at risk.”
Blevins knows all too well the tremendous amount of damage that a dog can do in just seconds. She's also discovering the resiliency of her daughter Charlotte. “Aside from the big scar on the back of her head,” said Blevins, “she’s amazing; she’s almost two now so she’s turning into the ‘terrible twos.’ It’s a good and bad thing at the same time. She’s going great.”
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Omaha pit bull owner going to jail
Associated Press - December 18, 2008 4:25 PM ET
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - The woman whose dog attacked and nearly scalped a 15-month-old girl has been sentenced to 275 days in jail. Tina Agerson was sentenced Thursday in a Douglas County court for harboring a dangerous animal and is set to report to jail on Jan. 5. She has pleaded no contest to the charge and others in September.
Police say Agerson's dog slipped his leash in June and attacked two toddlers and the mother of 1 of the children. One child, Charlotte Blevins, lost part of her scalp during the attack. The girl has had several reconstructive surgeries since then, and her mother has said the girl is facing more than $100,000 in medical bills.
Agerson had faced up to six months in jail.
Information from: KETV-TV, http://www.ketv.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Dangerous Animal Sentence Headed to jail
Posted: 4:20 PM Dec 18, 2008
Last Updated: 4:20 PM Dec 18, 2008
Reporter: Gary Smollen
Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com
Judge Greg McDermott summed the case up in one phrase, "This is the one of the most vicious, if not the most vicious attacks in Omaha, and we cannot take it lightly. He then sentenced Tina Agerson to 275 days in jail, her sentence starts January 5th.
Charlotte Blevins still has the scars from the attack, probably always will, but doctors want to try and restore as much of her scalp as possible, so they're going to stretch it, and re-attach it to her skull.
Wendy Blevins says, "Sometime after her 2nd birthday which is in March to have some more surgeries to basically expand her scalp, her skin and stretch everything."
While Charlotte faces the physical challenges, her mother Wendy is coping with the psychological. Ever since the attack on her daughter, Wendy says she has a difficult time being around dogs. Wendy Blevins says, "I always feel like I have to have an escape route, I can't go into PETCO any more just because I feel like I'm trapped in the store with dogs and I don't feel like I can get out."
Tina Agerson may feel the same way about cameras and reporters, since the day of the attack, and every court date after, the cameras were rolling on Agerson. Her attorney believes the coverage hurt his client, portrayed her as uncaring or unsympathetic. Jeff Courtney says, "Miss Agerson was the first one to realize the tragic circumstances surrounding this case and the second thing is she did not raise the dog to be a cruel animal."
Duke was destroyed right after the attack, what hurt Agerson may have been that she soon got a second dog, his name, Little Duke. Little Duke is actually a German Shepard, Agerson has since given him away.
Sentenced to 275 days, with good time Agerson should be out of jail the first week in August, 2009.
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