Man charged after pit bull attacks 7-year-old girl
Sunday, July 20, 2014
By Emily Priddy ~ Southeast Missourian
A Perryville, Missouri, man is facing a criminal charge after his dog mauled a young neighbor, Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Friday.
A pit bull owned by Christopher Gaulding, 26, of Perryville attacked a 7-year-old girl who came into Gaulding's yard July 9, Schaaf said.
"It chewed this little girl's arm up pretty good," he said.
Because the dog bit another child about a year ago, authorities charged Gaulding with a misdemeanor, Schaaf said.
The dog was on a chain in its yard when it attacked the little girl, Schaaf said.
He said a woman two doors down heard what was going on and called her husband, who came after the dog with a broomstick, Schaaf said.
The dog was standing over the child, but when the man approached with the broomstick, it charged after him, giving the girl a chance to roll to safety, Schaaf said.
"We've taken the dog," he said. "We've got it sequestered and given [Gaulding] notice he's got 10 days to appeal us putting him down."
Under state law, if a dog that previously has bitten a person or domestic animal without provocation subsequently bites another person, the owner can be charged with a crime.
The law also calls for the dog to be seized and held for 10 days before being destroyed.
If the owner appeals within the 10-day period, the dog remains impounded while the appeal is pending, the law states, with a disposition hearing to be held within 30 days to determine whether the dog should be put down.
The law does not apply to dogs that attack would-be criminals, such as a burglar breaking into a home.
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Show comments (5)
Poor child!
-- Posted by Spinning on Sat, Jul 19, 2014, at 12:04 PM
What do you mean poor child? More like idiot parents. The dog was on a chain in the owners yard. Now his dog is probably being put down because some irresponsible parents are incapable of properly monitoring their child. Some dogs are territorial. It's the other parties fault. If this had been a grown man trespassing (yes, that's what it was, even for being a small child), don't you think this story would have a different tone? Yeah, it does suck for the child, but this is not the fault of the dogs owner if he has the dog properly restrained.
-- Posted by Yale5683 on Sat, Jul 19, 2014, at 8:46 PM
It is a tragedy that the girl was hurt, but the dog was on a chain. It isn't right to put the dog down for defending his territory. The owner should have to pay the girl's medical bills and place the dog in a totally enclosed, padlocked kennel where he can't get out unless the owner lets him out.
-- Posted by RELee on Sun, Jul 20, 2014, at 1:46 AM
The parents of the child should be charged with neglect. If they had been supervising the child this never would have happened. The owner had the dog on a chain on his own property for goodness sakes.
-- Posted by laura63701 on Sun, Jul 20, 2014, at 9:22 AM
Regardless of whether the parents were negligent or not it is sad that a child is hurt. That is what I meant by that statement. I'm not blaming the owner nor the parents. Good Grief!
-- Posted by Spinning on Sun, Jul 20, 2014, at 9:30 AM
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