Woman jailed after dog mauls 6-year-old

By Dave Stafford, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer

June 23, 2009 07:58 am

— ANDERSON — A woman who police say was intoxicated and lost control of a vicious Rottweiler named Trouble was in the Madison County jail Monday after the dog attacked a 6-year-old boy over the weekend.
Hunter Lee Alberts, 6, 1616 E. 43rd St., Anderson, was treated for bites to his lower back after the attack Saturday evening near his uncle’s home. The 85-pound dog later was shot dead by an Anderson police officer as it lunged at the officer’s face.
Hunter’s grandmother, Shirley Brough, said, “He’s OK, but he’s petrified of dogs now.” Hunter received four stitches after the attack but also sustained puncture wounds from the bites that could not be stitched.
Police were called to the 1100 block of East 28th Street around 7 p.m. Saturday, where officers heard screaming coming from the alley to the north. A neighbor told police that a child had been bitten.
According to a probable cause affidavit, police found Michelle R. Cook, 40, 1109 E. 27th St., in the alley trying to pull the dog into the backyard of her home. An officer said he spoke with Cook, who was obviously intoxicated and ignored him while yelling at the dog.
Hunter’s uncle, Joseph Brough, said he had been behind his home talking with his brother while Hunter was visiting. The dog broke loose as Cook was walking it, charged past Brough and attacked the boy.
“He picked up this 6-year-old like nothing,” Brough said. “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through.”
He said Hunter “spun around when the dog hit him and curled into a ball ... I was hitting the dog and it had hold of his back.
“I’m a big guy and I hit hard, but it just wouldn’t let go,” Brough said.
Ultimately, Brough landed a punch on the dog’s snout that made the animal release the boy from its jaws.
Brough said he’d seen Cook walking the dog earlier. “She had no control over that dog. She fell three times before it got loose.”
Anderson Police Sgt. Bill Casey said that the dog’s owner, Brian Tanner, had Trouble on a chain after the attack, but the dog continued to lunge at officers. As Tanner attempted to turn the dog over to animal control officers, the dog gained distance on the chain from Tanner, Casey said.
When the dog lunged, an officer who had drawn his gun jumped back and fired a single shot that struck the dog in the head, killing it.
Casey said that Tanner told police that the dog’s vaccinations were up to date, but Tanner didn’t have documentation on Saturday.
Cook was arrested on a felony count of criminal recklessness causing serious bodily injury, a felony, and a misdemeanor count of public intoxication. Police said Cook had a blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent, more than twice the legal definition of intoxication.
Cook was held Monday on $2,000 bond in the Madison County Detention Center.
Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com

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