What does everyone think about this?

Kids rescued from jaws of vicious family dog

by Staten Island Advance Thursday October 04, 2007, 1:13 AM


Staten Island Advance/Hilton FloresEMTs Michael DeMarco and Kyle Wigglesworth helped rescue two sisters from a family dog run amok.
A Good Samaritan's timely arrival and the brave actions of rescue workers most likely saved two Huguenot sisters when the family dog went berserk and attacked them.

Police shot and killed Princess, a white, 8-month-old pit bull-shepherd mix.

The girls, Alyssa Bodd, 17, and Paige Bodd, 11, were home last night. On Tuesday, Alyssa was bitten on the left leg and her stomach was scratched; Paige needed six stitches to her right hand.

The drama unfolded at 6:25 p.m. Tuesday as the sisters were trying to get Princess back into their house at 152 Nippon Ave. after the dog had run out.

Witness Lisa Fuggetta, an accountant who was on her way home, said, "At first I thought they were play-fighting, then I saw one girl was hysterical, crying and screaming.

Princess was biting Paige's right hand, she said, while Alyssa was pulling on the dog from behind.

Ms. Fuggetta said Paige ran over to her car, all bloodied, as Alyssa continued fighting with Princess.

"I tried to reprimand the dog, like I was its master, but she just wouldn't respond," said Ms. Fuggetta.

The 24-year-old woman called 911, and two EMTs responded almost immediately, she said.

Michael DeMarco, 25, of Tottenville, assigned to FDNY Battalion 22, placed Paige in the ambulance. "She was more concerned about the dog even though she sustained injuries," said Kyle Wigglesworth of FDNY Battalion 23.

Alyssa had been bitten on the left leg and was trying to get Princess off her.

Spotting the girls' bicycles on the ground, DeMarco used one as a weapon, brandishing it at Princess. Wigglesworth availed himself of a 4-foot leg splint from the vehicle and joined him, until a handful of cops showed up about a minute later.

That's when, cops say, the dog hurtled toward Police Officer Thomas Cancilla of the South Shore's 123rd Precinct.

Cancilla -- standing about 15 feet away -- fired one shot and Princess went down, said Ms. Fuggetta.

"The dog had to be put down," said Ms. Fuggetta. "The cops didn't have anything else to protect themselves or the girls. I just feel bad. Everyone's faces were white. It was just really traumatic."

But Dawn Bodd, the girls' mother, was less than grateful toward police and says she'll file a complaint.

"We are just devastated," she said. "They could have shot her in the shoulder or ... in the hind leg. ... The cops could have shot with a tranquilizer gun, or stun gun, or something.

"Shooting her in the neck was cruel."

Mrs. Bodd said she had gone out to buy milk before the tragedy occurred.

She claimed police upbraided her for allegedly caring more about her dog than her children. Mrs. Bodd also complained that cops wouldn't allow her to lock up her house or retrieve her 15-year-old son from up the street.

"I knew my children were cut up, but not seriously injured," she said.

Mrs. Bodd said cops shot the dog in front of Alyssa, and it lay dying for 10 minutes "flipping around on the grass."

My daughter "was hysterical," she said.

Mrs. Bodd, who said the family got the dog about six months ago from a family friend, was at a loss to explain Princess' actions.

"The dog never went after anybody," she said.

A neighbor said the dog occasionally would play in the front yard and, as far as she knew, had never given any trouble.

--- Contributed by Kiawana Rich, Doug Auer and John Annese

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2007/10/kids_rescued_from_jaws_of_vici.html

 

interesting story, sad, but:

http://www.game-dog.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23819

(see bottom post)

"no attack threads. sorry GB dj. thread locked."

 

Oh. I apologize. Someone please close this thread. Thank you.