LOCKPORT: Pit bull investigation ongoing

Communities

August 1, 2007

By April Amadon/amadona@gnnewspaper.com The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Aug 01, 2007, 02:33 PM EDT

Police say that the results of a DNA test on a Washburn Street boy who was apparently attacked by the family pit bull are in and the dog’s traces were the only ones found.

No charges have been filed in the bizarre incident where police believe the dog sexually assaulted a small child. The dog remains at the SPCA of Niagara County.

“We’re still plodding through it,” Lockport Police Detective Capt. Larry Eggert said.

Eggert said nothing incriminating was found in the results of DNA tests that were taken from the dog and from the boy.

“If it says dog DNA for both parties, it’s dog DNA, which is pretty much what we were expecting,” he said.

Women’s and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo will not release any information about the boy’s current condition or if he is still a patient there. He underwent surgery there when he was admitted on July 8, the day of the attack.

The boy’s mother told police he had just removed his own dirty diaper and asked her to change him. She said he went into the living room to get a clean diaper and was alone with the dog, a 2-year-old pit bull named Bear, for a matter of minutes when the attack occurred.

The mother heard the boy scream and walked in to see the dog sodomizing him, police said.

Eggert said at the time the boy suffered “some pretty significant injuries” and was expected to undergo reconstructive surgery.

SPCA Director Al Chille said the dog will remain with his organization “until we find out that the Lockport police have completed their investigation.”

The dog had been with the family since it was a puppy and had no history of aggressive behavior, Eggert said.

Chille said he’s received calls from all over the country about Bear from people with all different opinions. Some have wanted the dog to be euthanized immediately, while others have requested to adopt him.

“It’s tapered down, but we still get an occasional (call),” Chille said.

The boy’s mother has contacted Chille, as well.

“She’s demanding that it be euthanized,” he said.

Investigators have been receiving many tips from the community, but much of the information has been based on rumors and speculation about the family involved, Eggert said.

“(There are) a lot of good-intentioned people, but a lot of people that are jumping on the bandwagon,” Eggert said.

He urged anyone with solid information about the case to call him at 439-6722.

Contact reporter April Amadon at 439-9222, ext. 6251.

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