WEST BATH, Maine — Police are working with the Sagadahoc County District Attorney’s Office and a local animal control officer to determine whether charges are appropriate following an incident Saturday in which a 5-year-old girl was attacked by two dogs.
A spokeswoman for Maine Medical Center in Portland said the girl was treated and released on Saturday. Brett Strout, chief deputy for Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department, said Monday the girl’s injuries were “significant,” but declined to provide further details. He said the girl was playing in the yard with the dogs when she made a sudden move and startled them, causing them to attack her from behind. The dogs’ owner, who is related to the girl and lives next door to her on Birch Point Road, then euthanized the dogs by shooting them, Strout said.
The girl initially was taken by a family member to Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick before being transferred to Maine Medical Center.
Strout said Tuesday that investigators are looking into whether the two boxers had ever been involved in an attack before, which could conceivably lead to a charge of keeping a dangerous dog, and whether their rabies vaccinations were current. Because the attack happened on the property where the dogs live, no immediate charges were filed in the aftermath of the attack.
Strout said the dogs were imported into the country two years ago from Denmark.
Don’t you think the dog owner/relative of child has suffered enough? The owner ‘destroyed’ the dogs immediately after. This was an accident – any dog can become aggressive given the circumstances. I don’t have children but whenever they visit I watch our dogs closely. Our large breed dogs (Newfys) are very mellow and tend to protect children and elderly but smaller dogs (Cocker Spaniels) can be a little testy especially with kids. I’m sure the dog owner feels horrible and good luck to the little girl bitten. I hope this experience does not taint her opinion about dogs in general. It could happen to any of us.
I agree, all parties have suffered enough, leave it alone.
I thought it was commendable that the dog owners took the initiative to destroy the dogs. From the article it sounds like an isolated incident. I don’t know if I would have taken that route but I don’t undertsand all the circumstances. It doesn’t sound like these are aggressive dogs. Again, any dog can turn. It’s the adult’s responsibility to watch what’s going on!!
Exactly. If they are thinking of pressing any charges, it should be against the girls parents for being irresponsible parents and not supervising their child. The dogs were on their own property.
Exactly. Given the dog owners swift and very decisive action following this attack, I seriously doubt the dogs had a history of this type of behavior.
anything they can do to stick it to someone they will
It is my experience that Bath is full of overzealous, bored policemen. The dogs harmed a family member, leave them alone and go after some real crime. If there’s no crime to fight cut back the force and stop wasting tax money.
Let’s find a charge. That seems to be the case with all law enforcement agencies and DA’s in this state. It seems they want to make all things that happen criminal.