California Injury Blog
A 20-month-old San Jose girl and her grandmother were reportedly attacked and badly bitten by their pet dogs believed to be pitbull-boxer mixes, according to an Associated Press news report posted on KESQ TV’s Web site. The toddler’s grandmother, 48-year-old Elizabeth Cinco, was reportedly bitten on the neck, ear and right leg when she tried to fight off the dogs and protect her granddaughter, Anna Leigh Cinco.
The child had to have part of her lip and chin reattached at a clinic in San Francisco, the article said. A news report posted in the San Diego News Tribune, initially said only one of the dogs bit the pair. But an article in the San Jose Mercury News clarified the chaotic incident, which ended up traumatizing the entire family.
One of the dogs first attacked the grandmother, who threw Anna into a couch to protect her. But the dog pounced on the little girl ripping her lip down to her jaw line, the newspaper reported. Another dog also tried to attack Anna’s 9-month-old brother, but the parents were able to fend off the dogs and get the situation under control.
The article quotes the children’s father, Jose Sanchez, who says Elizabeth Cinco has been emotionally devastated by the incident.
“She can’t sleep. She sees the same thing over and over. They put Tazz (one of the dogs) to sleep, but the scars, the pain, won’t go away.”
This incident is another clear example of how pit-bulls, pit-bull mixes or Rottweilers are very much prone to attacking people – especially little children. There are many dog owners, especially people who own these breeds, who will never admit that their dogs are vicious – even if they have attacked smaller dogs or neighbors in the past. These people are clearly in denial.
Increasing cases of dog attacks by these specific breeds are prompting citizens nationwide to lobby for “breed bans” in their communities. According to one such group called DogsBite.org, that runs a Web site to educate the public about this specific issue, two breeds – pit-bulls and Rottweilers – account for nearly 70 percent of bites that end up in death or serious injury to the victims.
If those facts don’t speak for themselves, here is the voice of a victim who testifies on the Web site:
“The dogs were sweethearts. I never thought they were vicious. They were really nice (until they attacked and killed my son). I would pet them and my wife would kiss them on the forehead.”