umm- during an argument this happened... i would like to know if maybe they were really fighting? i know elevated voices make my sara nervous although she never bit.
http://berkshireeagle.com/localnews/ci_3420201
Adams pit bull attacks owner
Animal control seeks to euthanize dog
By Patrick G. Rheaume, Berkshire Eagle Staff
Friday, January 20
ADAMS — The town's animal control officer wants to euthanize a pit bull terrier that violently attacked a woman on Monday.
Around 10 p.m., the 1-year-old dog bit Shaunna Sabin while she was having an argument with her boyfriend, Michael Byrd, officer Terry E. Moran said yesterday.
The pit bull tore into the flesh of Sabin's left leg and right arm, Moran said, and she came to the police station.
"When I came in (to the station), there was blood everywhere," he said. Sabin was quickly transported to North Adams Regional Hospital, where her wounds were treated.
Moran said the pit bull continued to behave aggressively after the attack.
"When I came to the apartment to get the dog, it had calmed down and I brought it to the shelter in my truck," he said. "But once we had gotten there, it started growling at me."
Moran said he wants to convince the owner, either Sabin or Byrd, to have the dog put to sleep. If the owner refuses, Moran will recommend euthanasia to the Board of Selectmen, which has the authority to require the procedure.
"If the owner's willing, there won't be a problem," he said. Several years ago, Moran said, he convinced an owner to euthanize her aggressive dog voluntarily.
Any dog that bites a person must be quarantined for at least 10 days, and the pit bull remains at the Adams Animal Shelter.
"It's not the kind of dog I'd want to know," Moran said. "If it attacks the owners that seriously, what's it going to do to (other) people?"
Releasing the dog, he said, could endanger children living or attending school in the area. The pit bull has lived for almost a year with Sabin and Byrd, Moran said, now staying at 35 Pleasant St. The couple could not be reached for comment.
The dog was unregistered and hadn't received a rabies vaccine, Moran said. He might give the owner a citation for having an unlicensed dog, but he doesn't plan to pursue charges related to the biting attack.
Chairwoman Myra L. Wilk said the Board of Selectmen hasn't ordered the euthanasia of any dogs recently. But the board has required some owners to restrain their dogs, Wilk said, including a dog that often chased a mail carrier.
She added that the board would have a hearing to consider testimony and evidence before making a decision about euthanizing the dog.
Town Administrator William F. Ketcham said that municipal laws require owners to keep their dogs on leashes, and allow the town to order the muzzling or restraining of aggressive dogs.
A spokeswoman for the Berkshire Humane Society said that statistics on the number of aggressive dogs and the consequences of dog bites in the county were not available.
An estimated 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year in the United States, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and approximately 800,000 people receive medical attention for dog bites.
Officials in North Adams have developed a stronger dog ordinance in response to an incident last summer, when a pit bull attacked five city residents.
The ordinance, currently under consideration by the City Council, would give the animal control officer authority to designate dogs that have attacked or threatened people and other animals as "dangerous." Dogs that have been impounded or behave aggressively when unprovoked, or whose owners have been cited for the allowing the dog to run off its leash twice in a 12-month period, would be classified as "potentially dangerous."
The city's public safety commissioner could place restrictions on dogs that have been declared dangerous or potentially dangerous. These restrictions include physical restraint or muzzling, completion of a behavior-modification training course, banishment from the city and euthanasia.
