Family Fights Dog Owner After Pitbull Attack
10-year-old victim will need reconstructive surgery
Todd Piro & Thomas Kienzler
The parents of a 10-year-old attacked by a pitbull want the dog put down, but the owner is fighting to get the dog back.
A Bloomfield family is fighting the owner of a pitbull that attacked their 10-year-old son.
Brian Ozenne Jr. was viciously attacked by the dog June 17. He was bitten in the back, throat, head and buttocks. The pitbull also chewed off part of Brian's ear. He will need reconstructive surgery to repair the ear.
"Oh my God, get me out of here before I get eaten," Brian said of the attack.
Brian's parents punched and kicked the dog, named Dutch, and finally got him to back off after hitting him with a broom.
A dispute over a dog has two Bloomfield families at odds, after that dog attacked a 10 year old boy in his front yard on Longview Drive on Father’s Day.
The Ozennes are dismayed at the possibility that Dutch could return to the neighborhood, just a few houses away.
“I understand you loving your animal but once your dog or whatever becomes that vicious, it’s time for that dog to just go. I’m sorry,” Yvonne Ozenne said.
The dog's owner, Dawayne Flemming, was cited for the attack, but hasn't approached the family since the incident.
“Not an ‘I’m sorry to hear what happened to your kid. What’s the extent of the injuries?’ Anything,” said Brian Ozenne Sr.
There will be a hearing in the next couple of weeks before the Department of Agriculture to determine whether or not Dutch will be put down or returned to his owner.
The Ozennes are also considering filing suit against Flemming.
