Articles Posted in Dog Bites

With so many people in one place, it’s inevitable there will be dog bites in Huntington Beach. Boardwalks and city streets are prime walking territory for dogs and their owners, and with a growing population, incidents are bound to happen. Dogs are mostly tame, but when provoked, can be lethal.

It might not seem like dog bites happen all that often, but there are over four and a half million dog bites every year in the United States. The rate of dog bites is going up way faster than the rate of dog ownership. This phenomenon has not escaped the attention of Huntington Beach residents.
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David Powell, his daughter and another 6-year-old girl were injured in a San Diego dog bite incident involving a pit bull. According to a 10News report, the dog attack occurred the morning of August 28, 2011 on Auburn Drive, near Euclid Avenue, in the City Heights area. Powell is not the owner of the dog but he was taking care of it at the time of the attack. The dog escaped its chain, jumped a low fence, and attacked the two 6-year-old girls. One of the girls required stitches because of multiple cuts to her face, arms and fingers. The other girl sustained a bite to the neck, while David Powell was bitten on his hand. Officials are investigating the incident.
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Jaqueline Sharp, 46, was seriously injured in a San Bernardino dog bite incident involving two pit bulls. According to KCDZ radio, the dog attack occurred on Balboa in Yucca Valley, the morning of July 25, 2011. Officials say the woman was viciously attacked by the two dogs in a neighbor’s driveway. Other neighbors who witnessed the attack restrained the dogs and contacted the authorities. Sharp was severely injured in the attack and suffered multiple dog bites to her arms. It is unclear from the report who owned the dogs, if they had a history of being dangerous, or what they were doing off-leash.

My thoughts and prayers are with Jaqueline Sharp following this horrific dog attack. I wish her a complete and speedy recovery.
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Jesus Martinez, 57, and a police officer were both injured in two separate dog bite incidents involving the same aggressive pit bull. According to a news report in The Press-Enterprise, the dog attacks occurred near State Street in Montclair, the morning of July 9, 2011. Martinez was out walking his dogs when a pit bull attacked him and bit both his arms. A couple of police officers tracked down the dog. The pit bull attacked the officers as well. One of the officers suffered bites to his left hand and his left thigh. The second officer fatally shot the pit bull during the attack. Martinez was treated at the scene of the incident and the officer was treated at a nearby hospital. It is not clear who owned the pit bull.
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Emako Mendoza, 75, is in critical condition following a dog bite incident in San Diego when she was attacked by her neighbor’s two pit bulls, the morning of June 18, 2011. According to a news report in The San Diego Union-Tribune, the serious injury dog attack occurred on Alleghany Street, near Potomac Street, in Paradise Hills. Mendoza was in her own backyard, when the two pit bulls escaped through a hole in the neighbor’s fence and mauled her. She remains in critical condition after one of her legs had to be amputated. Both dogs were euthanized following the attack. The dog owner is under investigation.
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Police have arrested the owners of two dogs that were involved in a dog bite incident in Barstow, which left a 52-year-old woman seriously injured. The victim was walking down Riverside Drive on December 29, 2010 when a Rottweiler and a Rottweiler-pit bull mix lunged at her and bit her on her legs, arms and chest. Neighbor Laura Hamilton saw the dog attack and came to the woman’s rescue. She was able to scare the dogs off and rescue the victim with a pickup truck.

Police say that the woman would have died, had Hamilton not rescued her in a timely manner. Police shot the two dogs when they lunged at officers as well. One of the dogs died and another ran away. The severely injured victim is still recovering. The dog owners, 55-year-old Ronald Ferrell and 38-year-old April Hearn, are facing felony charges.

My heart goes out to this injured dog attack victim. Such vicious dog attacks can certainly lead to serious injury or death. I hope this woman’s injuries were not catastrophic. I wish her the very best for a speedy and complete recovery.
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Neighbors in a San Diego community are concerned that a pit bull involved in a dog bite incident two weeks ago has still not been located. Tina Souza, the woman who was attacked and injured by the dog, is offering a $500 reward for information about the pit bull or its owner, 10news reports. She says that the dog ran through a gate and charged at her when she was taking a walk in the neighborhood. Souza said she tried to defend herself by putting her arm up when the pit bull bit her arm. The dog ran away and was never located.
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Jose Sadino, 5, sustained critical injuries in a dog bite incident after he was brutally attacked and mauled by a pit bull in the middle of a large apartment complex in Newhall. According to an ABC news report, the dog attack occurred the evening of June 11, 2010 when a number of children were playing. The dog, witnesses say, jumped out of a window and started biting Jose.
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