Eight-year-old in serious condition

LORAIN — An 8-year-old Lorain boy is in serious condition at a Cleveland hospital after his arm was mauled by a pit bull Wednesday afternoon, Lorain’s animal control officer and emergency officials said.
A police report on the incident was not available and Lorain police did not return calls seeking comment, but a LifeCare spokesman said the 8-year-old boy suffered a severe bite wound to the arm.
“He’s in serious condition, but he’ll survive,” said Herb de la Porte, LifeCare spokesman.
Police and paramedics were called to the 900 block of West 22nd Street around 4:55 p.m. Wednesday by someone at the boy’s home, a 911 dispatcher said.
The boy was taken by ambulance to CHP Regional Medical Center, then flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. The boy’s official condition at the hospital couldn’t be verified without providing his name, which was unavailable from police.
News of the dog attack frustrated Lorain Animal Control Officer Mike Mattei, who on Wednesday announced plans to start requiring vicious dog owners to register their animals and ensure the creatures receive proper vaccinations.
“We got the ordinance all set up, and I’m thinking that people will get a heads-up on all this,” Mattei said. “And then as soon as I get back to the office (on Wednesday), they say get to West 22nd Street, ASAP.”
As it turned out, the pit bull that attacked the 8-year-old boy was not necessarily a vicious dog, Mattei said.
“The kids are over there playing with it all the time,” Mattei said. Early reports — unverified by police as of late Wednesday — suggested the victim and a group of other children were playing in a yard when someone threw the dog’s ball, Mattei said.
The victim and the dog both went after the ball, and the dog responded by biting the child’s arm. The child sustained a serious gash on his arm from the bite, Mattei said.
The pit bull is about 2 years old, though Mattei said the animal showed no signs of aggression after the attack and had never bitten anyone before Wednesday.
The animal was quarantined Wednesday evening. The dog’s owner said it had all its shots and proper records, Mattei said, adding that he’s waiting to verify the information.
It was unknown if the dog’s owner would be cited.
Mattei said it was unfortunate Wednesday’s incident would likely solidify stereotypes on the pit bull breed, which aren’t responsible for most of the dog bite incidents in Lorain. So far this year, about five of 70 dog bites in Lorain were inflicted by pit bulls, Mattei said.
Contact Shawn Foucher at 329-7197 or sfoucher@chroniclet.com.

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