Dog beaten, turns on attackers
Taunton, MA (US)

Incident Date: Thursday, Mar 1, 2007
County: Bristol

Disposition: Not Charged

Persons of Interest:
» Aaron Jacinto
» Steven Sousa

Angel, the small brown-haired pit bull that garnered fame by attacking two city residents after witnesses said she was provoked, is going to live.

Witnesses have come forward and said the 35-pound pit bull was beaten before it attacked a 10-year-old boy and a 65-year-old man last week, Animal Control Officer Manny Massa said.

�I'm not going to euthanize the dog as three or four people whose names are being withheld at this point have stepped forward willing to sign statements that the dog was beaten,� Massa said.

The dog will be quarantined through Sunday at the Taunton Animal Shelter after biting Steven Sousa, 10, and Louis D'Addario, 65, on Indian Meadow Drive last Thursday.

Sousa said he was strolling alongside his friend, Aaron Jacinto, 12, of Taunton, who was walking the dog, when it turned on him.

Sousa received 14 stitches in his left forearm.

Neighbors told The Enterprise the two boys had been hitting the dog before the attack.

�We saw them hitting it with the leash and, like, beating the dog, hard,� said Joey Inacio, 15, who was walking home at the time last week. �They were hitting (the dog). It was just sitting there. It, like, put its head down a couple of times.�

D'Addario told The Enterprise he responded during the attack to help Sousa.

�I kicked the dog twice, and the dog looked at me like I was crazy, and it came after me,� D'Addario said last week.

He received a bite wound on his right forearm, but did not require stitches.

Both Sousa and his mother, Suzanne Fagundes of Taunton, denied that he hit the dog.

Massa recently obtained the statements by witnesses.

�We've had dogs that have mauled people (that have) been put down, but you have to go with all the facts and we didn't have all the facts� until now, said Massa.

Massa said charges are not being brought against anyone at this point.

When the attack happened, Marybeth and Joseph Jacinto of Taunton were looking after the dog for a friend, police said.

The dog's owner is Tiffany Galavotti of New Bedford, police said.

Massa said that hopefully the dog will go home to Galavotti once he obtains paperwork from her that states her landlord will allow her to have the dog and clearance from the New Bedford animal control officer.

Otherwise, �I'll have the owner sign off on the dog, and we will keep the dog here until we find her a home,� said Massa.

References

• « MA State Animal Cruelty Map

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