Aug 19, 2008 12:34 pm US/Eastern
Pit Bull Bites Baby In Harford County
ABERDEEN, Md. (WJZ) ―
There is heartbreak for a Harford County mother after her young son was attacked by a pit bull while at daycare.
Mike Hellgren reports it happened in Aberdeen. The dog is in the custody of Animal Control.
The child is now at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. In a
WJZ Exclusive, the heartbroken mother reacts to the vicious attack.
"They took his bandages off, and it was too much for me. I just kind of left it in their hands and left the room. It was too much," said Ericka Lewis.
Police say daycare workers didn't know the toddler went outside into a backyard after going through a rear door.
The home of the daycare provider, Anita Brunke, is in the 800-block of Edmund Street. She says the boy, 18-month-old Demetrius Allen, was the only one home at the time of the mauling.
The pit bull was fenced in the backyard, but in an instance, the dog had the child in his mouth.
"The dog had the little boy, bouncing him up and down like a rag doll," said a neighbor.
Brunke says the dog attack happened when she was in the bathroom. She kept the door open a crack to keep an eye on Allen, but she says she did not see him walk out into the yard.
"My neighbor, 'cause I was expecting another daycare kid, came busting in the house saying that he was outside with the dog, so we came running outside, and I called the dog's name, and he dropped him. And I picked him up and brought him into the house, called 911," said Brunke.
Police say the dog ripped off the boy's scalp. He's had surgery but they don't know how he's doing now.
"When you put your child in someone else's care, you pray they go by guidelines. It's negligence. She should have been watching him," said Lewis.
"If I could change it, I wouldn't, he wouldn't have been there. I'd be there, and I'm sorry for everything they're going through," said Brunke.
Brunke says the dog has never acted out like this before. Police say there will be no criminal charges filed.
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