Alicia Barton, who was attacked by four Pit Bull dogs in the Pastell Gardens area.
By KHRISNA RUSSELL
Tribune Chief Reporter
krussell@tribunemedia.net
A 51-year-old woman is nursing severe head, arm and leg injuries after she was nearly killed in a brutal attack by four Pit Bulls on Friday.
Hours before her arrival home that day, the dogs had been on the loose, terrorising the Pastel Gardens community where the ordeal unfolded, it has been claimed. During that time, the dogs had nearly attacked children and had gone into another neighbour’s house and were chased out, The Tribune was told.
Completely unaware of the imminent danger the dogs posed, Alicia Barton, an 11-year cancer survivor, said she had just arrived home and got out of her car when the animals set their sights on her.
“It was a typical day and all I wanted to do was get inside the house and go do what I usually do,” Ms Barton said yesterday.
She added: “I got out of the car. I didn’t see the dogs. So, when I got out of the car, I saw the dogs charging toward me and I tried to run back to the car, but I slipped down and they just jumped all over me.”
Ms Barton said she believes the attack continued for about ten minutes before neighbours realised what was happening.
“I was fighting them off and screaming for someone to help me. I then saw one neighbour, he came with his car and tried to run them off and another neighbour came in his car and he tried to scare them off, but one of them was still holding on the back of my head and really shaking violently.
“I know I was on the ground and I know a neighbour—they were throwing rocks and he tried to hit the dog sideways with something he had in his hand. I can’t say for sure what got them to release me, but he got me off the ground and he put me in his car and then we waited for the police to come.”
The dogs ripped out a part of her scalp and bit her arms and legs. In addition to her physical injuries, Ms Barton was brought to tears recalling how she suffered emotional anguish due to the attack.
“Both my arms, my legs are severely injured,” she said. “I was in surgery for about five to six hours. My scalp, a lot of the skin from my scalp is gone. They couldn’t graft it so it’s hopeful that it just grows back together. There is a lot of pain, particularly in my head.
“I am a cancer survivor for about 11 years. I had cancer and now I have to be fighting pit bulls.”
The attack has left her afraid to go home.
“On my way home from the hospital I saw a guy walking his dogs and I couldn’t stop crying. I can’t go home and I don’t want to go home. I heard dogs barking last night and I couldn’t even sleep no more and the injuries to my head, it just hurts so much.”
Ms Barton’s sister, Indira Rolle said she could not understand why the dogs were not better secured to prevent them from getting out and roaming freely. She claimed the animals were trained to be attack dogs and had been lingering around her sister’s yard after the ordeal.
She said: “They attempted to attack some children in the area earlier that day just before she arrived home and then they attacked another neighbour, actually went into one of the neighbour’s houses and they had to chase the dogs out.
“So, for the life of me I don’t understand the police or when you call them, they came that night when the incident happened, but couple hours after when the scene cleared and my sister was at the hospital and the police left, the dogs came back to the scene and my niece called the police and no one came,” she claimed.
“The very next day the same dogs were out again in her yard again, called and the police never came.”
She said animal control laws need to be amended or better enforced to prevent incidents like this.
“There needs to be stiffer penalties for the dog owners and the dogs should be put down once they taste blood.
“One dog was caught or shot. I am not sure how that part went, but the others are still terrorising my sister’s yard,” she said.
Royal Bahamas Police Force press liaison officer, Superintendent Audley Peters said police did receive a report of a dog attack and responded. A person has been arrested, he said.
“I can confirm that police received reports of a dog attack. The lady was treated in hospital and the matter is being investigated following the arrest of a person,” Supt Peters said yesterday.
He did not disclose what will happen to the remaining three dogs.
While Ms Rolle said her family is now focused on helping her sister make a full recovery, they do plan to seek legal recourse.
“We are most definitely going to seek legal action,” she said. “This was a healthy woman. She survived cancer. She was coming from work and in her own yard. She was at the right place at the right time. The dogs were at the wrong place. They should have never been in her yard.
“So, we’re going to fight this. We need something to be done with the dogs. This is not about money. We need those dogs gone and we need the owners held accountable because something has to be done. This is not just about paying off, this ain’t about that. This is about a life that was almost lost for no reason and we kept on seeking help from the police afterwards and nothing was done and the dogs were still there making noise.
“My sister is afraid to go home,” Ms Rolle said.
Comments
jus2cents 2 years, 10 months ago
@tribanon, What a load of codswallop! However... Enforcing laws that protect animals will also protect the public.
Responsible pet ownership should be the LAW.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
As a society we have great difficulty with the responsible parenting of children but you somehow believe we can get responsible ownership of unstable and very ferocious pit bull dogs accomplished. Give me a break!
themessenger 2 years, 10 months ago
@tribanon, while I expect many things of you ghetto mentality isn't one of them. I own a black Honda with dark tints, a Pitbull and a pistol, I've arrived! The owner(s) of these animals should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
My nephew who is a vet and operates a small animal practice in Newcastle, England, would be the first to tell you, like so many other vets, that pit bulls are justfiably banned as domestic animals in many countries because of their unpredictable disposition and hair trigger temperament, especially around strangers, and their inbred strength and dangerous instinct to fight to the death.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz........
Bobsyeruncle 2 years, 10 months ago
Lol. Both your initial post, and my riposte were removed by the censors. I guess they didn't like what I called you.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
Does this mean you will never again call me a Pit Bull !! LMAO
Bobsyeruncle 2 years, 10 months ago
I can assure you it wasn't anything as nice as that. Something to do with your conception.
tribanon 2 years, 10 months ago
You mean to tell me you actually stooped to slurring my mother?! Shame on you.
bahamianson 2 years, 11 months ago
Happens all over New Providence. Reckless people holding responsibility. People have dogs that run rampant in communities , and they do nothing about it. I hear my friend speak about this in his community all the time. One year it was a rottweiler running around his community whom killed a neighbour's small dog, next year , Doberman Pinchers running wild , next year next door neighbour's pitbulls came over and killed his dog. There is no recourse . Last year there was a video of pitbull looking dogs walking to Supet Value , lose. He complained about constant barking etc. Wow, I couldnt deal with that. It is not the dogs fault, it is inconsiderate dog owners whom are to lazy to secure their pets.
GodSpeed 2 years, 11 months ago
Pitbulls should be outlawed, there is no use for those dogs here. The owners of these animals should be hit with a fine or put in jail. It's amazing that after this vicious attack these dogs are still roaming freely around her yard and alive. The dogs should be killed and if the authorities wouldn't do it then I'd do it myself. There must be a correlation between low IQ and Pitbulls because the stupidest people like them.
bahamianson 2 years, 11 months ago
I understand your frustration but I have owned pitbulls for 30 years and I love them. My dogs have always been secured. Irresponsible people always make it bad. Cars ( cars dont kill people , reckless people driving cars kill people) kill more people per year than pitbulls, but who is going to petition to have cars banned? More people are stabbed and killed per year, but who is going to petition to have knives banned? Much respect to you.
tribanon 2 years, 11 months ago
Couldn't agree with you more.
ted4bz 2 years, 11 months ago
We have rules on this. But we are a society that do not follow the rules, especially if no one’s looking. We are a part of a system exhausted by the will to enforce and conduct penalties to the rules. And then there is this. We are concern only when something affects us. In the main time we ignore the rules and turn our head if we are the guilty one and turn our head when someone is the victim, or we mourn their misfortune for a day, then move on, or pretend to move on. This world is a mess.
hhussain85 2 years, 11 months ago
We need to ban pit bulls and dog fighting breeds in the Caribbeans. Furthermore, is there a GoFundMe to help this poor woman? I can get a group of people to donate but only if the article officially posts a link in this newspaper article itself.
JackArawak 2 years, 11 months ago
Always makes me laugh when pit bull owners say “not my pit bull”. Lol. When was the last time you heard of someone being attack by four pot cakes.
DWW 2 years, 11 months ago
shotgun easy. dont ask dont tell
Sickened 2 years, 10 months ago
This pack of dogs certainly need to be put down. Consideration should also be given for locking up the owner - especially if the police can find several neighbors who have complained about the dogs running loose over the years. This woman could easily have been killed if the dog(s) got a hold of her throat.
gumbolimbo 2 years, 10 months ago
Pit Bulls take the #1 spot on The Department of Agriculture's banned and prohibited list of imported dogs to The Bahamas. I wonder how so many Pit Bulls came to be in The Bahamas?
The Department of Agriculture requires an exhaustive amount of paperwork each time I leave the Island and travel with my pet. This includes Health Certificates, current records of immunizations and microchip information.The latest requirement by our new administration is a pet photo must be provided to be kept on file with the Agriculture Deparatment. All these requirements must be met along with a fee before a Permit is issued.
Additionally, the Dept. of Agriculture requires another Health Certificate indicating that my pet was seen by a Vet 24 hours prior to returning to the Island and another check up within 48 hours upon arrival by a Bahamian vet.
While this is time consuming and costly, it is done in order to ensure that banned and prohibited pets do not gain entry as well as knowing the animal being brought to The Bahamas is healthy, free of disease and not a danger to others.
Pet owners, please do your part and keep your animals healthy and secure them in an enclosed area so they DO NO HARM!
BONEFISH 2 years, 10 months ago
An unfortunate situation that could very easily have been fatal. The owners of those dogs should charged and prosecuted. Also those dogs should be put to sleep. The owners of those dogs should pay all of this lady's medical fees. Most Bahamians literally have to be taught how to be responsible pet owners. I always remember when I first visited my sister in the US,.I did not see any stray animals on the street. She told me of the strict penalties for letting your animals roam the streets unattended. Those laws were strongly enforced by the local authorities for health and safety reasons.
ohdrap4 2 years, 10 months ago
Years ago there was a labrador that attacked me when I was walking to and from work. I wslked across the street and he still attacked me.
I told the owner and he laughed at me in front of the dog.
A few days later, I saw the dog with his head burst open left in his driveway. The guy put up a fence to separare the drive way and I have never seen his dogs on the road again.
While I did not kill the dog, it is not right to have the animal attack people going to work and then laugh about it.
Had this man been in his own country, he would be arrested. Here there is no recourse.
John 2 years, 10 months ago
Several years ago, a vet ( who is now deceased) Saipan ‘vicious dogs don’t protect anyone. They do more harm than good because the owners eventually lose control of them and then they always end up attacking the wrong people or other pets .’ He went on to say ‘. If you want a great guard dog, don’t train him to be vicious, but treat him as part of the family. Don’t alway keep him chained or locked up but allow him to move about your home and yard. He will learn who is family and friends and who is a threat. And you will always be in control of him.
JohnQ 2 years, 10 months ago
It is not uncommon for bad boy thugs to own and train this breed of dog to be vicious attack animals. It is somehow thought to be a sign of power. While I agree that in this case the animals should be put down.......it is the owner(s) who should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
H 2 years, 10 months ago
@gumbolimbo The Bahamas has high density neighborhoods, those dogs need a lot of care and exercise. They are not dogs that can be let loose to roam.
I am devastated for the victim. I was attacked by two different pitbulls in Nassau, did not get bitten, luckily I was able to get away. Terrifying -- you never forget it.
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