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By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER – Residents of a subdivision near Wal Mart are gathering signatures for a petition pushing Mineral County animal control officials to take action against a pit bull that mauled a smaller dog to death last Sunday.
With last weekend’s attack occurring less than two weeks after a 3-year-old Rawlings boy was severely mauled and nearly killed by a rottweiler, residents of the trailer park on Trenum Drive said they are afraid to let their children play outside with a vicious animal still in the neighborhood.
“People won’t let their kids out in the yard to play anymore,” said Judy Morton, whose dog died in the attack. “Once that dog gets a taste of blood, you’d better watch out. I can’t believe they won’t do anything.”
Last Sunday Morton was walking her “Poma-Chu” Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix “Scrappy” around the yard of her trailer home, as she has done countless times in the eight years she had the dog. Turning the corner at the front of her home, she came face to face with one of her next door neighbor’s two pit bulls, its leash held by a 5-year-old girl.
In an instant, the pit bull lunged for Scrappy, breaking free from from the girl’s grip and clamping its powerful jaws around the smaller dog. The next few minutes played out in slow motion, a terrifying, surreal episode punctuated by screams, blood and horrific images Morton will never forget.
“I didn’t see (the other dog) until it was was too late,” Morton said. “I was screaming bloody murder; everybody heard me.”
Morton tried to beat off the bigger dog, which bit her hand, causing nerve damage and a chipped bone. Neighbors came out at the sound of her screaming. Her 8-year-old son watched in horror as Scrappy was thrashed about like a rag doll, still in the animal’s jaws.
“This happened in front of a lot of people, in front of little kids,” said Crystal Blanks, a resident of Trenum Drive.
When the pit bull finally let go, Scrappy lay motionless, and Morton was in shock.
“I had blood down both arms, down my shirt, on my legs,” she said. “My little boy, I thought he was going to go into a seizure.”
In the wake of the attack, the dog warden investigated, but did not order the pit bull removed from the home. Morton said the dog was ordered to be kept in the house for 10 days because its rabies shots weren’t up to date, but no other action was taken.
As Morton described the attack while sitting on her deck Thursday afternoon, the second pit bull lounged on a dog box behind the neighbor’s house.
Morton said the animal control officer chided her for not having Scrappy’s rabies shots up to date. While she initially declined to press charges, Morton soon contacted the animal control office to advise that she had changed her mind.
“He said if they charge him (the owner of the pit bull), they have to charge me too” for the rabies shots.
Angry, Morton said she invited the officer to do so, but still no charges have been filed.
Contacted Thursday afternoon, animal control officials said they would respond on Monday.
In the meantime, neighbors are pressing for the dog to be removed from the house. A petition circulated Thursday quickly drew 30 signatures. Residents plan to present it to the Mineral County Commissioners.
“People up here are afraid to walk their dogs or have their kids out,” Blanks said.
Adding to the concern is the plight of Jacob VanPelt, the three-year-old who was nearly mauled to death last month near Rawlings. The boy’s intestines were ripped open in the attack, and his foot nearly severed. Residents don’t want to take a chance.
“You don’t know what that animal’s going to do,” Blanks said.
For Morton, those moments of terror continue to replay like a bad dream, so much worse for the fact that it was real. “I had my dog on a leash and he was on his own property,” she said, staring blankly at the spot at the base of her porch steps where the fatal attack occurred, her eyes tearing. “I tried to save him, but I couldn’t. I still can’t get it out of my head.”
By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER – Residents of a subdivision near Wal Mart are gathering signatures for a petition pushing Mineral County animal control officials to take action against a pit bull that mauled a smaller dog to death last Sunday.
With last weekend’s attack occurring less than two weeks after a 3-year-old Rawlings boy was severely mauled and nearly killed by a rottweiler, residents of the trailer park on Trenum Drive said they are afraid to let their children play outside with a vicious animal still in the neighborhood.
“People won’t let their kids out in the yard to play anymore,” said Judy Morton, whose dog died in the attack. “Once that dog gets a taste of blood, you’d better watch out. I can’t believe they won’t do anything.”
Last Sunday Morton was walking her “Poma-Chu” Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix “Scrappy” around the yard of her trailer home, as she has done countless times in the eight years she had the dog. Turning the corner at the front of her home, she came face to face with one of her next door neighbor’s two pit bulls, its leash held by a 5-year-old girl.
In an instant, the pit bull lunged for Scrappy, breaking free from from the girl’s grip and clamping its powerful jaws around the smaller dog. The next few minutes played out in slow motion, a terrifying, surreal episode punctuated by screams, blood and horrific images Morton will never forget.
“I didn’t see (the other dog) until it was was too late,” Morton said. “I was screaming bloody murder; everybody heard me.”
Morton tried to beat off the bigger dog, which bit her hand, causing nerve damage and a chipped bone. Neighbors came out at the sound of her screaming. Her 8-year-old son watched in horror as Scrappy was thrashed about like a rag doll, still in the animal’s jaws.
“This happened in front of a lot of people, in front of little kids,” said Crystal Blanks, a resident of Trenum Drive.
When the pit bull finally let go, Scrappy lay motionless, and Morton was in shock.
“I had blood down both arms, down my shirt, on my legs,” she said. “My little boy, I thought he was going to go into a seizure.”
In the wake of the attack, the dog warden investigated, but did not order the pit bull removed from the home. Morton said the dog was ordered to be kept in the house for 10 days because its rabies shots weren’t up to date, but no other action was taken.
As Morton described the attack while sitting on her deck Thursday afternoon, the second pit bull lounged on a dog box behind the neighbor’s house.
Morton said the animal control officer chided her for not having Scrappy’s rabies shots up to date. While she initially declined to press charges, Morton soon contacted the animal control office to advise that she had changed her mind.
“He said if they charge him (the owner of the pit bull), they have to charge me too” for the rabies shots.
Angry, Morton said she invited the officer to do so, but still no charges have been filed.
Contacted Thursday afternoon, animal control officials said they would respond on Monday.
In the meantime, neighbors are pressing for the dog to be removed from the house. A petition circulated Thursday quickly drew 30 signatures. Residents plan to present it to the Mineral County Commissioners.
“People up here are afraid to walk their dogs or have their kids out,” Blanks said.
Adding to the concern is the plight of Jacob VanPelt, the three-year-old who was nearly mauled to death last month near Rawlings. The boy’s intestines were ripped open in the attack, and his foot nearly severed. Residents don’t want to take a chance.
“You don’t know what that animal’s going to do,” Blanks said.
For Morton, those moments of terror continue to replay like a bad dream, so much worse for the fact that it was real. “I had my dog on a leash and he was on his own property,” she said, staring blankly at the spot at the base of her porch steps where the fatal attack occurred, her eyes tearing. “I tried to save him, but I couldn’t. I still can’t get it out of my head.”
