Award in pit bull attack
Erin Ingram is 12 now but was eight when she was in front of her family home near Atlanta waiting for friends to play basketball with and was attacked by the neighbour’s two pit bulls, who’d escaped from their yard when owner Twyann Vaughn was not home.
Erin has had many surgeries and will need many more, the court had heard. She lost her left arm from the elbow down and her right arm was only saved after veins from her leg were taken and used to save it. She has many permanent scars and has wounds to both her feet.
The dogs would not stop attacking her and when police officer Sgt. R.B. Peeler arrived he initially used his baton to hit the animals, unable to use his gun for fear he’d hit the girl. When one dog jumped up at him he was able to shoot it dead without fear of hitting anyone else. The other dog ran off and was later caught and euthanized.
“While it’s large enough to make one sit up and take notice, it is ultimately a symbolic victory for the Ingram family,” Ingram family attorney Kevin Adamson said about the $72 million verdict. “This verdict, we hope, sends an important message to those who allow their dogs to roam free and fail to protect others.”
Pit bulls maul boy
In other news involving pit bulls on this day, a report from News Channel 4 in Oklahoma reported on the condition of a boy in Enid who was viciously attacked by pit bulls on December 27.
Ten-year-old Bernie Molnar was riding the new scooter he got for Christmas in his yard when two pit bulls attacked him. Initially there was no one to help him but a neighbor came along and tried to fight the dogs off. He hit them with the scooter and it took while for Patrick Prall to get the dogs to stop their attack.
“They grabbed on my arm and shook it like it was a chew toy,” Bernie said. “I was shocked, scared, anything bad. I’m having trouble remembering (the attack) right now.”
The dogs were put down and their owner, who’s had serious convictions in his past, is face charges of harboring dangerous dogs. The dogs broke Bernie’s right arm and severely damaged his face, including biting off a piece of one ear. Bernie has stitches in the back of his head and faces many more surgeries.
Pit bulls lead dog attacks
And also after Christmas a pit bull-rottweiler cross was left alone with a 16-day-old baby at a home in Victoria, B.C.. The dog attacked the baby and she had to be rushed to emergency that police said at the time would likely need plastic surgery. That dog, which had been in the family 17 years, was euthanized.
Pitbulls are responsible for the most dog attacks, injuries from dog attacks and deaths from dog attacks in Canada and the U.S.. That is despite the fact they rank far down the list of most popular dogs to own and, relatively speaking, their numbers are small.
Insurance companies will not provide coverage for pit bulls.
