The mother of a 5-year-old girl who was severely bitten by a bulldog at a pet store says the dog should be destroyed.
The powerful bulldog ripped open Lauren Sampson’s thigh and buttocks as it tried to carry her away inside a PetsMart at 2780 S. Colorado Blvd., said Amy Jewett Sampson, the girl’s mother.
“It was amazing the strength of that dog,” Sampson said. “It’s jaws had locked up on her. We were playing tug-of-war with my daughter. She was bleeding everywhere.”
The girl, who turned 5 today, is healed but Sampson said she is worried that the bulldog could harm and kill another child.
“I’m angry that this dog is still alive,” she said. “I assumed a dog this vicious would be euthanized. If the dog had attacked her throat she could have been killed.”
After the attack on Oct. 28, the dog was taken to the Denver Municipal Animal Shelter where it was quarantined for 10 days, shelter Director Doug Kelley said. The dog was released today to its owner.
The owner, Amy Powell of Denver, was cited for the misdemeanor charge and faces a possible $1,000 fine and one year in jail, Kelley said.
The dog was on a leash, had not bitten anyone previously and a witness said that the girl startled the dog, he said.
“It certainly wasn’t a good situation,” Kelley said. “But we have to look at all the factors.”
Sampson said she, Lauren and another daughter went to the pet shop to buy a collar for their chocolate labrador.
A woman had the bulldog on a long leash and the animal lunged at Lauren just as Sampson saw her, she said. The bulldog clamped onto her leg and buttocks near her groin.
Sampson said she tried to pry the dog’s jaws off her daughter. The dog backed up, trying to carry away her daughter, who was waling.
When the dog finally released the girl, Sampson ran with her screaming for someone to call paramedics.
She was rushed to Denver Health Medical Center, where surgeons worked on her for 1 1/2 hours. The doctors couldn’t seal the wound immediately for fear the dog’s saliva would infect Lauren, she said. She was in the hospital for three days.
Although the bulldog didn’t have a history of biting, this one attack demonstrates how dangerous it is, Sampson said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
