LINDALE - After being attacked by a neighbor's pit bull and losing her little companion, a Smith County woman is pushing for stricter leash laws.
Polly Scott said she had taken Baily, her 5-year-old papillon, outside and was playing with him about two weeks ago when a neighbor's pit bull suddenly attacked her.
"The pit bull came out of nowhere and lunged at me," she said. "The dog was on top of me and both my hands were in his mouth as I tried to fight him off."
Ms. Scott said Baily ran to her aid even though she screamed for the dog to stay away.
"He (Baily) ran up and took the attention off me and the pit bull grabbed him up and shook him," she said.
Her swollen fingers clasped the photos of the little black and white dog she called a hero. In one photo he had a ball at his feet and in another he turned toward the camera with a whimsical look."He was more like a kid, he wasn't raised like a dog," she said. "I took him everywhere with me and he was just like my child. Once I took him in the restaurant in my bag and got up from the table. When I came back, a lady next to me said, 'Your bag is moving.'"
After the attack, she was transported to East Texas Medical Center where doctors treated her injuries, which she said could not be stitched, but had to be left open to heal.
The pit bull was put to sleep and tested for rabies.
Ms. Scott said another pit bull from the same owner attempted to attack her daughter just days later. Another neighbor shot and killed that dog.
Ms. Scott said she is all for the proposed law before legislators that could land a dog owner, whose pet injures another person, in jail for 20 years.
The bill by Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, would make it a third degree felony - punishable by two to 10 years in prison and an optional $10,000 fine - if an owner failed to secure a dog that makes an unprovoked attack.
If the victim dies, the crime would be a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
For a dog owner to be charged with a crime under current law, the dog must have been classified as dangerous from a previous incident - a provision critics call "one free bite."
"If a pit bull attacks once, it will attack again," Ms. Scott said.
The Gattis bill eliminates the dangerous dog requirement.
In Smith County, several people have been attacked by dogs and they have all questioned why there are no leash laws in the county.
Ms. Scott wants county laws to be stricter and owners made to pay huge fines for roaming dogs and dogs that attack innocent people and pets.
"I don't take her (Taylor, her other papillon) outside without someone going with me now," she said. "My daughter said she will not bring my grandkids over here anymore, and I really don't blame her."
Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail:
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