By Frank Lewis
The owner of a pit bull that reportedly attacked a child in New Boston last week has a court date set, and charges have been filed against her. Barbara Amburgey, 63, of 3217 Rhodes Ave., was served a summons Monday morning.
She is scheduled to appear in New Boston Mayor’s Court Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on charges of not securing a dangerous dog and allowing the dog to run loose without a leash or being secured.
The day following the alleged attack, officers from the Dog Warden’s office sought out Scioto County Prosecutor Mark Kuhn.
“They did want some legal guidance on whether or not they’ve got the legal authority to seize the dog under certain circumstances,” Kuhn said. “They were going to talk to the New Boston solicitor (Justin Blume) as far as the charges associated with the bite.”
Kuhn said the statute says under those circumstances the dog warden is allowed to seize the dog and maintain it at the dog pound until the judge decides what is appropriate to be done with that dog.
According to the original New Boston Police report Amburgey advised police that the child was playing on a swing set in the backyard at 3217 Rhodes Ave. when the dog, a pit bull, had gotten out of the house and had attacked the child biting her on the face. The report says Amburgey told officials that her pit bull had bitten someone about a month or so before when they had come to her residence to deliver medication.
The victim, 9-year-old Caleigh Blower of New Boston, was scheduled to have her first surgery on Monday. Her father, David Blower told the Daily Times the child’s arm has three gashes from the teeth, one gash ripped her forearm open exposing the internal part of the arm.
“It is starting to heal and luckily there was no nerve or tendons injured and her middle finger was broke,” Blower reported to the Times. “Her face though, is a different story. It will take a long time and many surgeries to be fixed, if it is even able to to be fixed close to how she was.”
Reach Frank Lewis at 740-353-3101, ext. 1928, or on Twitter @franklewis.
