Dec 31, 2007 6:53 pm US/Pacific
Dog Euthanized After Toddler, Grandmother Attack
SAN JOSE (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ―
A dog that attacked and severely injured a toddler was euthanized as Santa Clara County authorities revealed that the 70-pound animal was identified as potentially dangerous a year ago after it bit a man.
The 20-month-old girl, Anna Leigh Cinco, had the flesh on her lip and chin ripped off to the bone by the dog, an unneutered boxer-pit bull mix named Tazz, said San Jose fire captain Barry Stallard.
She underwent reconstructive surgery Monday to repair her face, he said.
The dog's owner agreed to have Tazz destroyed following Sunday night's attack, which started when the dog went after the girl's grandmother while being fed, according to Greg Van Wassenhove, the county's director of animal care and control.
The dog belonged to the grandmother's sister, Lourdes Martinez, he said.
When Tazz bit the grandmother, Elizabeth Cisco, on the arm as she entered her sister's apartment, she instinctively tossed the toddler on a nearby couch to get her out of harm's way, but the dog pursued the little girl, according to Van Wassenhove.
Both Cinco and her nephew pulled the animal off, but not before the dog bit the grandmother's ears, face and legs and gravely wounded the child, he said.
Dogs sometimes view small children as "threatening their territories" when they are put together at family gatherings, Van Wassenhove said.
"That is the most likely scenario," he said. "We don't expect a 20-month-old child to provoke a dog."
In the previous incident involving Tazz, Martinez was required to license the dog and warned that he could be considered dangerous.
The county did not officially designate the dog as dangerous, however, because the man's bite was not considered serious, county administrator Michele Ribardo said.
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