Girl maimed by Pit Bull attack coming to terms with appearance.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A 6-year-old Colorado Springs girl is recovering from severe facial injuries after she was attacked by a neighbor's dog.


Meagan Garrow underwent a four-hour surgery and received hundreds of stitches after the attack on Monday.

The dog tore open the girl's cheeks, exposing her teeth. It also bit off one of her nostrils and tore off some flesh around one eye.

Her twin brother, Brendan, witnessed the attack but wasn't hurt.

The children's mother, Genevieve Riedel, says Meagan is doing better than expected. Riedel says that after the surgery, Meagan "looks like a little girl again."

The dog, identified as a pit bull, was euthanized. Its owner, Rachel Goran, faces a misdemeanor charge of owning a dangerous dog.


Full attack article here: http://www.gazette.com/articles/hospital-101610-monday-face.html

AJ Maninoa speaks about the attack by Pit Bull.

Earlier this week I blogged about a child that was bit in the face by a young punks Pit Bull...
Well now the child is speaking out about it.

An 8-year-old boy left with "half his face hanging off" after a pitbull attack told his crying mother he was grateful it was him and not his baby brother or sister.


AJ Maninoa spoke yesterday of the attack in the hope it might stop other children from getting too close to dogs they don't know well.

The West Auckland boy said he was with his mother, Liga Misa, 2-year-old half-sister Tali and 18-month-old half-brother Juergen at a friend's place in Hindmarsh St, Henderson, when the attack happened on Monday afternoon.

Speaking from the Kidz First Hospital at Middlemore, AJ said he had just finished eating some cake and was going to check on Juergen when he saw the pitbull, which was chained up in the garage.

"I went to touch the dog and I saw the teeth and all of a sudden it bit me and I screamed."

As the dog held on to the side of AJ's face - its teeth piercing the skin on his cheek - the terrified little boy fought back.

"It wouldn't let go so I punched it on the side of its face."

The dog released its grip on AJ's cheek and he ran - clutching a hand to his bleeding face - inside to his mother, who screamed when she saw his injuries.

It was on the way to hospital that AJ tried to offer reassurance.

"His Mum was crying," said AJ's father, Andy Maninoa. "He said to her, 'Mum, don't worry, it's lucky it was me and not my little brother or sister, otherwise the dog would have had them for lunch because they are really little."

AJ - short for Andy Junior - spent three hours in surgery, where surgeons worked to repair a tear that narrowly missed his eye and a nerve that controls his upper lip.

He now has more than 100 stitches. Although he's being brave, AJ said: "I'm still scared and I keep on thinking about it."

His message to other children is simple: "Don't go near strange dogs."

Mr Maninoa, who was at work when the attack happened, arrived at hospital expecting to see a few bite marks. He was shocked by the extent of the injury.

"I felt it in my heart," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks. "When I first walked into the room I knew he was brave. He said to me, 'Dad look at my face."'

Mr Maninoa said AJ, who used to spend time in front of a mirror working on his mohawk, was worried about the permanent scars, and kids at school laughing at him.

"We told him, 'You just tell them you are a strong man - you fought with the dog."

Mr Maninoa's partner, Kelly-Ann Julian, said AJ was a wonderful young boy, never once crying despite his horrific injuries.

"It was shocking to see how half his face was just hanging there."

The pitbull, which was destroyed after the attack, was known as an aggressive dog and had a history of rushing at people.

Waitakere City Council animal welfare manager Neil Wells said the council had warned the owners just days before the attack to keep the dog restrained and under control.

An investigation is under way to determine whether they will face charges.

Lynn approves pit bull muzzle ordinance

LYNN — The Lynn City Council has approved a law that requires pit bull owners to muzzle their pets when off their property.


Councilors on Tuesday also agreed to ask Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy to increase the manpower of the city’s animal control department, which currently has only one full-time officer, to enforce the rule.

The Daily Item of Lynn reports that the ordinance was passed after the council listened to nearly three hours of often passionate arguments from people on both sides of the debate.

The muzzle law was proposed by council President Timothy Phelan in May after several pit bull attacks on people in the city.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1267872&srvc=news&position=recent

 
 
It's a start!

Crazed Pit Bull goes on the attack in Moscow

Owner loses control of ferocious Pit-Bull, Police arrive to help.

Craigslist Pit Bull attack

A big surprise for some people in Oregon. A family picked up a free dog, a pit bull mix, off Craigslist. Now, that dog is in quarantine at animal control, and the family is promising legal action against the dog's previous owner. Bob Heye explains why.

Pit Bull found burned in bad shape.

MILFORD — Police are trying to locate the owner of a severely burned dog that was found Saturday wandering in the area of Colonial Avenue.


The female dog, which had recently given birth to a litter of pups, suffered third-degree burns on its neck and shoulder areas, police said in a statement. The injuries were severe enough to require “extensive ongoing medical treatment” at a local veterinary hospital, police said.

Police said they do not know where the pups are, or how old they are. Animal control officials “are concerned that the mother and her puppies may be affected by the undue stress caused by their separation,” police said in a statement. The Animal control officials had responded after receiving word that the injured animal was wandering, police said. The dog has been dubbed "Ginger."

Officers are investigating how the dog cam to be injured and are seeking to locate its owner, the statement said.
http://nhregister.com/articles/2010/07/12/blotter/doc4c3b48c6bfe95662095728.txt

Pit Bull bites boy in the face.

This punk walks his Pit Bull to the animal control officers truck after the dog bit a child in the face.


An 8-year-old boy suffered a "nasty gash" to his face when he was attacked by a Pit Bull yesterday afternoon.

The boy, who was rushed to Middlemore Hospital by ambulance, was believed to have been visiting an address in Hindmarsh St, Henderson, when he was bitten on the side of his face by a pitbull terrier.

The dog was taken away and destroyed last night.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10658397