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Pit bull owner will likely face charge related to attack
Posted On 08 Apr 2015
Janice Manning, of Rockholds, suffered this gruesome wound to her leg after being attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull in March.
Criminal charges against the owners of a pit bull that attacked a Whitley County woman in March appear imminent, and one county official says the issue of aggressive dogs running loose is being taken seriously.
Whitley County Judge-Executive Pat White Jr. said he’s contacted the county’s animal control officer, Wayne Perkins, regarding the incident, which happened on March 24 on Tye’s Ferry Road.
“After I read about it in the paper [News Journal], I contacted him and told him that he needed to follow up on it,” White said. “That was the first I’d heard of it. I referred him to our County Attorney Bob Hammons and the Manning family. He’s been out on site as well where the attack happened.”
The victim of the bite, Janice Manning, was throwing a Frisbee with a young nephew in her yard at 830 Tye’s Ferry Road when she was bitten by the pit bull. White said from what officials have learned, the Frisbee went over into the neighbors yard. When they threw it back, the dog followed it and then attacked.
The 10-month-old pit bull weighs about 60 pounds.
Jannice Manning’s husband, Conley Manning, said in last week’s News Journal that he’s contacted animal control several times about the dog.
"We’ve had the dog warden here several times because the dog is running loose but he won’t do anything about it. He said there wasn’t anything he could do. I’d just have to shoot it," Manning said.
He also said he sent a note to the Whitley County Judge-Executive’s office about the issue, but hadn’t received any response.
White said that according to county records, the last time Manning called for an animal control officer was in September 2011. He added he hadn’t received any letters from Manning that he knew about. Perkins said he had not responded to any complaints about this particular pit bull.
“I haven’t been up there about that one,” Perkins said. “This dog’s grandpa wasn’t even alive the last complaint we got up there.”
White said, in any event, county officials take dog bites seriously and planned to take action. Janice Manning’s injury from the dog was serious. About a four-inch diameter portion of skin on her right calf was ripped off. She plans to see a plastic surgeon once the wound heals.
“We are taking action to address it,” White said. “We’ve got a meeting with Bob Hammons about the issue. That’s in the works now.”
Hammons confirmed last week that he issued a criminal summons for the dog’s owner, Tonya Bell, to appear in court on charges of harboring a vicious animal. The charge carries with it possible penalties that include jail time, fines and requirements that the dog be kept an area with high enclosures to prevent it escaping.
“When you are dealing with dogs bred to fight, like a pit bull, they need to be held to a higher standard because they are equipped to do such damage to people if they attack, that’s my personal opinion on the matter,” White said. “Unfortunately, the [law] in Kentucky makes it sort of difficult because really what it says to happen is that animal control officers and law enforcement are supposed to shoot them. The public doesn’t tolerate that very well. I don’t have a good stomach for that and the animal control officer doesn’t like that,” White said. “I think the more appropriate thing to do is to try to refer things to district court. That’s the process we are going to follow.”
Perkins said the dog has undergone the Whitley County Health Department’s quarantine procedures for rabies and is currently being kept inside Bell’s home.
“We are just in preventative mode now to make sure nothing else happens,” Perkins said. “People think their dogs will never cause any trouble, and then the next day they are eating their next-door neighbor’s grandma.”
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correct shoot the dog. dog no different than a possum or squirrel. it gets mean you kill it. problem solved.
To make this right the owner of the dog should be thrown in jail for a month or two and have to pay all medical bills for the person bit. Then the dog should be shot. It’s the only way to make sure it won’t terrorize the community any more and keep the rest of us safe.
The only reason someone would own a dog like a pit bull is to show everyone else they can and there is nothing that can be done about it. Everyone knows the reputation of these dogs and how bad they can hurt people. But you know … ‘Murica, baby! ‘Murica. Yeeeeee Hawwwww!
dear bad neighbor is rednecky even a word?? just for your information, I have 2 pit bulls and that does not make me ignorant or stubborn. Would this even be an issue if it was a heinz57 dog that had bit her? My sympathy goes out to Mrs. Manning. I would never wish anyone to be bitten, but it happens. It seems to me that if the dog was so viscous it would have bitten her more than the one time. Dogs will bite if they feel threatened. Maybe that was what happened. But that does not make the owner ignorant. To say that is the only type of person that would own a pit bull actually makes you ignorant.
I can sympathize with the Manning family. Having rednecky neighbors can make your life miserable is just about the worst thing. You can’t talk sense into people like that. They are ignorant and stubborn. That’s why they get dogs like pit bulls.
I am sorry that Janice got bit. I told you I would do whatever you needed me to do to help you with the situation. I am not saying anything bad about you nor your family, but I am saying you make it sound as if Rebel just ran straight at her and attacked. That is not what happened.
good luck mr. manning as my 8 yr old son had his whole upper lip rip off rips down his cheek from a dog tooth and bites on his neck and chest area here in whitley county dog was not registered and had no shots my son went through several surgeries and had to go through rabie shots and all that happen to owner was a 200 dollars fine and they had to keep dog up i was told my son life had no value as u can place a value on a human life if he had been a hog then they would have had to pay market value for the hog so good luck and just so eveyone knows it was german shepard
I wil not play this game out on the media for that is what courts are for. I refuse to stand idly by and be called a liar because a dog attacked my wife in our yard. First the fence Ms. bell referred to is on my property and is a cattle fence of barb wire notva dog fence. She was notvhone and relates what happened as if she was. The photos of my wife’s leg were taken before we saw a doctor and were totally the results of the vicious attack. We have and are still suffering from this attack but will now pursue action to relieve our suffering, our stress and get assistance with the tremendous financial drain this is putting our family through.
I will not get into a response on the media we have suffered enough trying to work through this painful process. The photos I shared at the request of the reporter were taken before we saw a doctor and no one has scraped on that bite! Mrs Bell was not home when the attack occurred!
First of all, I would like to say that owning a pit bull does NOT make you an idiot. But there is only one side to this story being told. Mr. and Mrs. Manning did not tell the complete truth. First, they were not still playing frisbee. Second, the picture of the bite is AFTER the doctors had cut and scraped the actual bite to prevent infection due to a surgery she had had a couple of years ago. The dog is a house dog and is a watch dog. He did manage to get outside when my son and a few of his friends were playing ball. The dog was after the frisbee because he loves to play fetch. When he chased the toy, and Mrs. Manning seen him, she screamed. The dog did bite her. I am sorry that he bit her, but that does not make him an awful dog. The Mannings also did not mention how they call for my dogs to come down to their home and feed them scraps. Also that they play with the children that goes down there to visit. And there is a fence between our homes, but it is useless because they ( the Mannings) have a place cut out of it big enough to fit their 4 wheelers through so they can get on top of the hill during hunting season. I have had this dog for 2 years and this is only the second time they have even seen him. I think that alone says alot.
John I own a pit bull, I’m not an idiot. I have raised my pit bull on my truck (yes John I’m a truck driver) I haven’t raised him to be a mean animal. Any dog can be a mean animal if you raise it wrong. Sadly this incident happened to Mrs. Manning. I agree with Mr. Manning there should be a leash law. But John, you sir are the idiot. You need to learn before you speak or type. Mr.and Mrs. Manning on behalf of pit bull owners every where I’m sorry for this sad incident and as a pit bull owner I agree with you on the leash law.
John…I have a pit and I am not an idiot. Pits aren’t the only dogs that bite ppl. If you treat and raise a dog to be gentle then that is what happens. I have had 6+ dogs and everyone of them different breads. They all were very gentle and loving dogs.
If the dog is 10 months old how have you had trouble with it for the past yr? You would think you would keep to the correct story and not contradict yourself.
I have a pit and she is the most gentle dog ever. I rescued her from a person that left her tied to a 18 in cord for 2 weeks with out feeding or watering her. Luckily me and our neighbor feed and watered her several times a day. Its all in the way ppl raise their dogs not just pits.
Anyone that would own a pit is an idiot!
I agree with having leash laws…HOWEVER it didn’t happen just because the dog was a pitbull! I leash mine everywhere he goes, but there are other breeds that are loose even in the city limits that need to leashes because they can bite and hurt you or a child just as well as a pit can do! It’s all in how they are raised! But I do agree it should’ve been on a leash if it didn’t happen on the dog owners property!