“It went from us doing this, you know, great dog saving rescue and adding a new family member to defending for her life and then now, you know, people out there saying that I’m blaming the dog”, he said.
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Officials said the dog was deemed “sociable” on behavioral tests, Newsday reported. Sixteen-year-old Briana Neira remains hospitalized at Stony Brook University Hospital with severe injuries to her face and arm.
Suffolk police tranquilized Alex and took him to the Brookhaven animal shelter, where the 2-year-old canine was euthanized. The dog was scheduled to be put down in 22 minutes when his family decided to foster him, Newsday reported.
Photo of the pit bull that was adopted by Stephen Neira of Patchogue and then bit his daughter Briana, 16, after he brought the dog home.
“They made me feel confident enough that I could bring this dog home to my family”.
Alex was originally brought to the Harlem shelter on August 30 with conflicting information about his background – documents said he was both a stray and that he was muzzled when he was surrendered by his former owners. Neira, 40, bought Alex on Thursday after seeing him on a website for rescuing “death row” pets.
Neira says Alex’s teeth pierced the girl’s face and arm.
“As with any animal that comes into our shelter, Alex was behavior tested using the ASPCA SAFER methodology”. He passed the touch, food aggression and toy possessiveness tests, but he pulled on his leash and appeared frustrated with being confined while at the shelter.
Because of this behaviour, Alex was transferred to New Hope Rescue Partner, an agency that brought in Caroline All Breed Rescue Vermont to help find a forever home for him.
The horror began when Neira opened the backdoor, allowing Alex to enter the house, where his entire family was watching.
“I had to get it off my daughter”, he said.
A spokeswoman for the city shelter said in a statement to Newsday, “Our thoughts go out to the family”. “In the meantime, we are investigating this case for further details”.
“He ran inside, slid across the floor, turned around, saw my daughter and jumped for her throat”, the father said.
“The dog was suspended in the air, and I got behind it and out in a choke hold”, he said.
Alex was put down the same day because the shelter allegedly could not calm him down. “I had to end it”.
Neira said he thought he’d rendered the dog unconscious from his tight grip and flung him a few feet away in the backyard, but the dog attacked again.
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Hearing the screams, next-door neighbour Bill Samulik ran over to help and opened up his gate to allow Neira to escape, fencing in Alex in the Neira’s backyard.
