Fatal pit bull attack prompts talk of ban

By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island councilwoman said it may be time to consider a county ban on pit bulls in the wake of the death of an 18-month-old Puna boy, attacked along with his mother during the weekend.

Neighbor Mark Van Doren called for help when the pit bull attacked an 18-month-old Puna boy. Hugh Clark • The Honolulu Advertiser

The child's mother, Luana Moniz, remained hospitalized yesterday in stable condition after trying unsuccessfully to get the dog away from her son, Tyran Moniz-Hilderbrand. Moniz, 24, was attacked by the pit bull before the boy's father and a friend wrestled with the dog and killed it with a pick ax.

Big Island police yesterday said the dog attack is being classified as a home accident, and no criminal charges will be filed.

Police are closing their investigation into the attack by the 80-pound pit bull at the home in the Hawaiian Acres subdivision last Saturday night.

An autopsy revealed the child bled to death as a result of numerous dog bites. Police said they have found no evidence so far of previous violence by the dog.

Opinions in the community following the attacks were mixed.

"I think we should look at (a ban), if it is legal for us to do it," said Leithead-Todd, who personally keeps a part-pit bull family pet.

Fern Miller, a dog breeder since she was 7, maintained that pit bulls are not inherently vicious. "People make them that way," said the retired breeder who judged Pit Bull Terrier Clubs of America shows for 26 years.

"It's the people's fault, it's not the animal. I never had a trouble with my dogs, and I was always very careful who I sold to," said the 60-year Big Island resident. "Too many raise them for dog fighting," she said.

In a separate incident a day after the fatal pit bull attack, a 40-year-old man was attacked by an unidentified dog on Sunday. The Fern Acres subdivision resident suffered leg and arm wounds after being bitten. Fern Acres adjoins Hawaiian Acres, where the toddler died.

Mark Markell of Volcano, whose adult daughter suffered a deep bite from a pit bull that injured her knee cap several years ago while she was jogging on Wright Road, predicted at the time that unless authorities stepped in a human life would be lost.

Later, a neighbor, who was a Vietnam war veteran, shot a pit bull that attacked him while he was jogging along the same roadway.

"These large dogs are not uncommon in Puna because they are kept for hunting and by marijuana growers protecting their patches," said Markell, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

In Kea'au, Alexandria McGhee, 15, said she is "terrified by dogs" after being attacked on her bicycle by a pit bull last October. She was left with eight puncture wounds to the back of her leg, just above the knee. She has seen the dog loose since then, she said. About six months before, her brother, Christian — 8 at the time — was bitten on the buttocks by a pit bull. The animal bit through his jeans and left a deep wound, she said.

Their mother, Caroline McGhee, said, "Something needs to be done before someone dies. A child smaller than my 15-year-old would have been lunch for this pit bull."

Dog fanciers say pit bulls are misunderstood, and that much of the problem is in training.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.