7-year-old recovering from dog attack in Hartsville
By JIM FAILE
HARTSVILLE - Darlington County law enforcement authorities seized a dog Friday that attacked a 7-year-old Hartsville boy on Dec. 30 seriously injuring him.
A warrant was also issued Friday charging the dog’s owner, Troy Lee Toney, 40, of 912 Longview Drive, Hartsville, with violating the county’s leash law, a misdemeanor, according to Capt. Andy Locklair of the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. Locklair said additional charges could be forthcoming.
He said authorities are in the process of trying to have the dog deemed a dangerous animal. “We believe he’s a danger to the community,” Locklair said.
The attack happened at Toney’s residence, according to Locklair.
The boy, who lives at a nearby residence, is recovering from his injuries. He received stitches to one side of his face and his left arm is in a cast.
The incident happened at about 3 p.m.
The injured boy and his mother were in an ambulance about to leave for the hospital after the attack when a Darlington County sheriff’s deputy dispatched to the residence arrived, according to a sheriff’s office incident report.
The boy suffered bites on the right side of his face, on the right side of his torso and on his left arm, according to the report.
According to the incident report, Toney told the deputy that he was raking leaves and talking to a neighbor and had the dog off his chain when he noticed that the dog was gone.
Just then several children came running to him to tell him to get his dog, the report states. He said he looked and saw the dog on the boy biting him, according to the report. Toney said he called the dog off, put him back on the chain and picked up the boy and carried him back to his residence, according to the report.
Toney told the other children to stay away from the dog because it was a pit bull and would bite, according to the report.
He told the deputy that he had signs up in his yard warning about the dog but that they had been torn down.
The deputy notified the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control about the incident, according to the report.
Locklair said the case remains under investigation.
Yeah thats right. Own a pitbull, let him run wild and take your eyes off him for a minute. Why do owners think its ok to let their dog off the leash. Dogs in Hartsville are laying on the sidewalks, running wild in packs and not restrained. Be a responsible dog owner and take control of your dog.