Two women are injured and a pit bull is dead following an early morning altercation on Thursday, June 23 in the 800 block of Gibson St. in Oxford Township.
Around 12:30 a.m., a 39-year-old Oxford woman and her 16-year-old daughter were arguing, when the daughter allegedly ‘pushed the mom back to get some personal space,? prompting the pit bull to attack the teenager, according to Oakland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Patterson.
‘That seems to be what sparked it off,? he said.
‘From what the daughter told me, the push is when she remembers getting attacked,? said sheriff’s Det. Jason Louwaert.
‘A lot of animals get really agitated when people start screaming at each other,? Louwaert noted. ‘They don’t understand words. They just understand body language and (voice) volume. They react to it.?
The mother tried to get the attacking pit bull off her daughter, which resulted in her being bitten in several places.
Louwaert responded to the scene and learned the 16-year-old victim, along with two young children, were still inside the house.
As he made his way through the house, he encountered the dog, which was basically standing between him and the room containing the 16-year-old victim. The pit bull approached Louwaert in an aggressive manner.
‘He was showing his teeth and growling at me,? he said.
Louwaert indicated his only option was to shoot the dog to protect not only himself, but the home’s other occupants.
‘I shot that thing square in the face and it took off and ran out the door,? he said.
After Louwaert found the 16-year-old victim and fire/EMS personnel administered medical attention, he located the pit bull outside and dispatched it with his sidearm.
‘It was safer to put it down there, then to try to move it,? he explained. ‘It was wounded and backed into a corner.?
The daughter sustained bite wounds to her lower right leg, which required stitches. The mother had to be hospitalized as she suffered bites to her right hand, both arms, her chest area and her left leg, which sustained a large open wound. ‘That was the most severe one,? Louwaert said.
At the time of the attack, the mother’s other two daughters, ages 8 and 12, were home as well as a 12-year-old friend.
None of them were injured.
A second family pit bull, who was in a cage at the time of the attack, was taken into custody by Oakland County Animal Control.
According to Louwaert, the 39-year-old woman’s mother indicated this pit bull bit her daughter ‘several months ago.? ‘That was the most severe one,? Louwaert said.