Pit bull attacks Clarendon man

A Clarendon man is counting himself lucky this week after he was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull dog Sunday.

Bobbie Kidd says he was picking up trash in the alley behind his house with two of his grandchildren the morning of January 15, and his neighbor, S.J. Johnson , was also taking his trash out. Kidd said his granddaughter ran up to Johnson and he also started in Johnson’s direction when the dog owned by a second neighbor, Steven Bento, hit him from behind.

“I had seen that dog earlier tugging on his chain,” Kidd said. “He was probably loose for a little while because I hadn’t heard him, and he would always go crazy when someone was outside.”

The dog bit Kidd’s leg, tearing his pants, and then let go. He hollered for his grandkids to get to the house, and he and Johnson followed them to make sure they got inside okay.

“I don’t know how he didn’t knock me down. If it had been one the kids, it would have been really bad.”

Kidd said he called 911, which dispatched a deputy, animal control, and an ambulance. EMS personnel cleaned the wounds, and Kidd went to an emergency room by car to have the wound checked.

The dog was killed later this week, and the head was sent off for rabies testing. It had not had its shots.

Kidd said he had complained about the dog to the city in the past and, while the city is making progress in some areas, the dog situation is very bad.

“It could have gotten one of the kids and that’s exactly what’s going to happen in this town if we don’t watch out,” Kidd said. “You should be able to walk down the street and not worry about getting attacked by a dog.”

City Animal Control Officer Jason Christopher said he expects to have the test results from the dog this week, and he said the city is going to crack down the dog problem and strictly enforce the local requirement for a dog tag and the state law that dogs be vaccinated for rabies.

“This isn’t a city deal, this is state law,” Christopher said.

Pit bulls are a particular problem for the city, accounting for more than 50 percent of the reported dog calls, Christopher said. Over the weekend a local woman reported a neighbor’s pit bull killed her cat, and Christopher said there was another case of a pit bull killing two cats.

“We’re going to have to see about restricting pit bulls in the city,” he said.

City Administrator Lambert Little said the Board of Aldermen will consider that issue at a called meeting next week.