DILLON, SC (WBTW) – One Pee Dee family is thankful after a four-year-old boy survived an attack by a pit bull Monday.
Wednesday afternoon Dillon Police arrested the dog’s owner Andrew Campbell and charged him with dangerous animal attacking a human, failure to register a pit bull in the city, and violation of the city’s leash law.
“I thought he was going to kill him,” said Tamare McCall, recalling how terrified he was Monday when a neighbor’s pit bull caught his cousin, Zaquinzey Bethea and wouldn’t let go.
“Everybody just panicked,” remembers Tykeema McCall, as she tells of the horror she and the rest of the family felt as the dog continued to bite little Zy.
“I thought my brother was gonna pick up the table and throw it,” McCall said. “We just panicked.”
The attack left Zy with bite wounds on his legs and thighs. He was rushed to emergency surgery, where he has since surprised even his doctors with how quickly he’s recovering.
“He’s not supposed to be up walking, they wanted him to stay off his feet,” said Annie McCall, Zy’s grandmother. “But he decided to get up out the bed himself and he’s walking, and it’s just a blessing.”
Dillon Police began looking for the dog and its owner right after the attack, a pair it turns out these kids know quite well.
“We had gone to Andrew’s house before,” said Tamare. “We saw his dog and we were feeding him.”
Police say Andrew Campbell, arrested and charged Wednesday afternoon, had not registered his pit bull with the city.
A city ordinance passed in 2008 says owners of pit bulls and other breeds deemed dangerous must pay a registration fee, keep the dog in a six-foot tall kennel, and maintain insurance in case of events like this. Owners who violate the ordinance stand to lose their dogs an face charges, though this family didn’t want to press charges of their own.
“There’s no hard feelings toward this young man,” said Annie McCall. “It was just the idea that this dog attacked my grand, but he’s fine.”
Dillon Police Chief David Lane tells me the dog is being quarantined for several days to watch for signs of disease. As for little Zy, he said he still wants to get a dog of his own after his experience.
