{"id":14984,"date":"2012-06-07T17:08:43","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T21:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=14984"},"modified":"2012-06-07T17:13:47","modified_gmt":"2012-06-07T21:13:47","slug":"investigator-said-dog-attack-was-avoidable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=14984","title":{"rendered":"Investiga- tor Said Dog Attack \u2018Was Avoidable\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY IRIS B. HOLTON<\/strong>
\n Sentinel City Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

For a few terrifying moments, a four-year-old was caught in the jaws of a pit bull dog. After the attack, the dog, who had also bitten another person six months ago, was euthanized.<\/p>\n

Little Destiny McKenzie<\/strong>, 4, was outside her apartment playing on Monday afternoon when she was attacked by a pit bull mix. The dog bit the child in the face and on the hand.<\/p>\n

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office, emergency personnel were dispatched to 8010 Tommy Court in Palm River, in reference to a dog bite shortly before 5 p.m., Monday.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival deputies discovered that a pit bull mix named Bear had bitten Destiny McKenzie.<\/strong> The dog\u2019s owner, Ms. Tanya Okeke<\/strong>, told investigators that she had tied the dog up to the handrail near her apartment and was preparing to give him a bath.<\/p>\n

The child was outside playing near the dog with other small children when she apparently fell within the dog\u2019s reach. For unknown reasons, the dog broke free of the owner\u2019s control and bit the child on the face.<\/p>\n

The dog would not release his grip on the child until Ms. Okeke<\/strong> struck him in the head with her fist.<\/p>\n

Destiny<\/strong> was admitted to Tampa General Hospital, where she was listed in serious condition. She was released from the hospital on Tuesday. The Hillsborough County Animal Control took possession of the dog euthanized him on Tuesday. Their investigation is ongoing.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Investigator Pam Perry<\/strong>, of the Hillsborough County Animal Services said that her office will seek prosecution against Ms. Okeke<\/strong>. \u201cIrregardless of the circumstances that occurred, the dog had a prior history.<\/p>\n

Investigator Perry<\/strong> said she will seek prosecution because there were prior instances with the dog. In December, Bear attacked another dog and when the owner attempted to free the dog, Bear bit her on the leg.<\/p>\n

Investigator Perry<\/strong> said at that time, Ms. Okeke<\/strong> signed paperwork acknowledging that Bear had \u201cdangerous propensities\u201d that served as a warning. \u201cThe paper she signed put her on notice that if a further incident occurs, she could be charged,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Investigator Perry<\/strong> feels that Ms. Okeke<\/strong> should be charged with culpable negligence and with a second-degree misdemeanor because the owner knew of the dog\u2019s past behavior.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Investigator Perry<\/strong> also said that her office is attempting to sort out statements given to them. In addition to the previous account of the attack, she stated that they had heard another account. \u201cThere were a lot of excited utterances,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mother Heard Different Account<\/strong>
\nMs. Akeshia Williams<\/strong>, Destiny\u2019s<\/strong> mother, said her two older daughters were outside when the attack happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told me that the dog ran upstairs to where Destiny<\/strong> was and dragged her down the stairs and he wouldn\u2019t let go until the lady hit him in the head and he dropped her on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told the dog was freaking out because he didn\u2019t want to take a bath.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Williams<\/strong> said her daughter was bitten in the face and on the hand. She further said that her daughter will be monitored for the next year for scarring, and to make sure the wounds are healing properly. Ms. Williams<\/strong> said she doesn\u2019t really know the owner of the dog, but that kids in the neighborhood would buy frozen cups from her. \u201cShe is the frozen cup lady. I\u2019m just really glad that it wasn\u2019t any worse,\u201d Ms. Williams stated. Ms. Williams<\/strong> further stated that her daughter was not afraid of dogs prior to the attack.<\/p>\n

State Attorney To Review Case<\/strong>
\nMark Cox<\/strong>, spokesperson for the Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office said that when his office receives the case, they will review it and make a determination on rather they will seek prosecution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor For a few terrifying moments, a four-year-old was caught in the jaws of a pit bull dog. After the attack, the dog, who had also bitten another person six months ago, was euthanized. Little Destiny McKenzie, 4, was outside her apartment playing on Monday afternoon when she was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}