Check out the video below and read the transcript. What do you think of Nancy Grace's comments regarding Mickey the Pit Bull and little Kevin Vicente?
Nancy Grace transcript regarding Mickey the Pit Bull
Aired March 18, 2014 - 20:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Now to Phoenix. Nearly 100,000 people rally to save an evil pitbull after the brute viciously mauls a four-year-old little boy nearly to death. Why? Supporters say because the tiny child, quote, stole the dog`s bone. They`re worried about a stolen bone when a little boy is nearly dead after having his face and body ripped to shreds by a pitbull?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five-year-old Mickey, a pitbull terrier, went right for the four-year-old`s child`s face. Some have blamed the child. Witnesses say four-year-old Kevin Decente (ph) went to grab one of the dog`s bones. People raising money and signing petitions to help save the dog.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are trying to make excuses saying it was Kevin`s fault or the babysitter`s fault. Everything but the dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Gregg Paul, news director, 960 the Patriot. Nearly 100,000 people are supporting the dog, an evil pitbull that nearly killed a four- year-old little boy? I don`t understand, Greg.
GREGG PAUL, NEWS DIRECTOR, 960 THE PATRIOT: Well, you know, it`s not that they support the dog or that they are going against the little boy. What they`re saying is that this dog was acting out of instinct and possibly that they blame the people, the adults who were around the boy in the backyard, that they should have been watching the boy better. So that`s who they sort of blame. It`s not so much that they`re blaming the boy, but a lot of people are standing behind this dog, saying it should not be euthanized and that they are saying that maybe the dog should go to special training or possibly be given to a special place where he can maybe then be adopted out to a family that can take care of this dog.
GRACE: Really? Well, if he acts like a wild animal, then maybe he should be with other wild animals and not with little children like this four-year-old child. Dr. Salvatore Lettieri is with me, a Mayo Clinic physician serving as chief of plastic surgery at Maricopa Medical Center, who actually performed the surgery on the little four-year-old child, Kevin Vicente. And let me warn everybody, these photos are graphic. This pitbull nearly mauled this child to death. Dr. Latteri, thank you so much for being with us. How extensive was the surgery on little Kevin?
LETTIERI: Well, let me start first off by saying, there are two parts to what you`ll notice, the superficial part where the skin was damaged, but the deeper structures in the right side of his face were extensively damaged, ranging from around the eye to the upper cheek bone to upper jaw bone to the lower jawbone, the mandible.
GRACE: How much future surgery will the little boy require, Doctor?
LETTIERI: Well, probably over the course of the next one to two years, we`ll work with him, try to regain the ability to open and close his eye on the right side, and also to redo the tear duct drainage system. The bone structures that we repaired, which is the mandible, the lower jaw and the eye socket, those we fixed at the time of his original surgery, which by the way, was five and a half to six hours.
GRACE: Dr. Salvatore Lettieri, Mayo Clinic physician, joining us. Every time I look at the picture of this little boy sitting in that hospital bed, looking up, I think of one of my children sitting there with their face ripped to shreds.
Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. How do we get -- where is Patricia? How did we get so bassackwards that people are actually defending the dog? I mean, Patricia, look at the child. I mean, if the dog instincts took over, then maybe the dog`s instincts could be better suited to be out in the wild and not around little children.
SAUNDERS: I disagree with you on that. I hold the owners responsible, even though they may have been in compliance with the law about containing the dog. It isn`t an evil dog. It`s an evil act by instinct. Because the boy is only four years old --
GRACE: It`s a devil dog. I don`t even know what you`re saying.
SAUNDERS: A devil dog?
GRACE: He ripped a child`s face practically off. Yes, devil dog, yes.
SAUNDERS: As in Satan?
GRACE: As in take a look at this picture. And I know, I`ve seen your husband with about ten dogs at the end of a leash. I don`t know why I thought you might agree with me.
SAUNDERS: I do.
GRACE: Look at this picture, Patricia, look. I`m glad to hear that. Not that picture, Liz. That picture!
With me right now, Richards Rosenthal, general counsel for the Lexis Project (ph) who hired a lawyer to save Mickey. Richard Rosenthal joining me from Q Gardens (ph), New York. Richard, the dog nearly ate the little boy`s face off. It seems to me like the little boy is the one that needs to be saved, not the dog.
RICHARD ROSENTHAL, ATTORNEY: Not necessarily. First of all, if we want to place blame, let`s place it on the adult. The best comment on this whole thing was the doctors when the boy was first brought in who said the dog was only doing what dogs do, and the little boy was doing what little boys do. The problem here is that the baby-sitter was not doing what responsible adults do.
GRACE: I`ve got to disagree with you, Richard Rosenthal, because dogs that are allowed to be around people -- peole include children.
ROSENTHAL: The dog wasn`t allowed to be around people. The child went into the dog`s area. You know, if you`re going to trespass, if you`re going to go into the dog`s area --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Where was the dog? Where was the dog? Where was he, Richard?
ROSENTHAL: He was in his own yard unchained.
GRACE: Dr. Morrone, this child had his face ripped off. He`s going to have surgery probably the rest of his life, Dr. Morrone.
MORRONE: Surgery is not a one-time event. As this child grows, he`ll need further reconstructive plastic surgery on superficial and deep structures to accommodate his growth. So it is an ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction from this terrible event.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Very quickly, Justin Freiman, how long was the chain that the devil dog was on?
FREIMAN: This evil dog was on an 18-foot chain.
GRACE: Whoa. I thought you were going to say 8. Richard Rosenthal, he was on an 18-foot chain? Let`s see the back of that year. That`s practically the whole yard. How do I know the little kid wasn`t just walking down that driveway right there?
ROSENTHAL: Because the pictures show that he wasn`t. That he fully came into the other yard. The bigger problem is how come you don`t blame the humans who are supposed to know better, unless you think that the dog is smarter than the humans?
GRACE: No. Actually, Dr. Patricia Saunders, I blame not only the humans but I blame the dog. I think the dog, a pitbull, is inherently dangerous. I`ve covered so many stories where they eat people. That`s why I don`t understand why this dog is out in a backyard on a chain without a fence. I don`t understand that.
SAUNDERS: That`s why all of us or most of us are saying we blame the people, because you buy a dog like this, you know they`re aggressive, they are territorial. You darn well better have them trained. I wouldn`t touch a dog like this unless I trained them. Like I do with my own.
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army specialist, Julian Berisford, 25, Benwood, West Virginia. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, loved West Virginia University sports, fishing and the Beatles. Parents, Shelly and Jewel. Widow Gina, daughter Mia. Julian Berisford, American hero. Drew up next, everyone. I`m see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night.
END
I'm glad the baby will be ok. But it never ceases to amaze me how many people that are not held accountable for their ignorance. The babysitter is at fault here and the owners should not have any dogs. Anyone who does not feel their dog is not a family member should never have one. Nobody but the owner of a dog should be bothering any dog while eating or having a bone to start with. Working as a humane officer i can tell you facts don't lie. Never have i came across a pit bull that wanted to bite. I have however choc lab, poodle, shiatsu, and small mix breed. A chained dogs territory is heightened and guard their things more so than a dog that is kept in the house and treated like a loving family member. Many people who have dogs should not have them because of their ignorance of not educating themselves and training,teaching,and doing what is best for the dog. but yet again the dog pays the ultimate price for human ignorance.Just because you have a dog does not mean you know anything about dogs. This stereo-typing bullshit has to stop! Why haven't the saint bernard, poodle,lab,beagle and shiatsu made the news? Because of the idiots out there being bullys with the pit bull breed that's why! For the people claiming others are siding with the dog,, you need to educate yourselves. Nobody wants a child hurt, get real! A dog is a reflection of it's owner. Nancy Grace is a bias ignorant idiot with no knowledge of dogs. She is among those who cause the stereo-typing of certain breeds.
ReplyDeleteHey Nancy, WHAT ABOUT THE BABYSITTER?? Who PAYS for all this surgery????
ReplyDeleteNancy Grace is a media whore who will do anything for shock value. She clearly knows little to noting about dog behavior, dog breed statistics, or responsible dog ownership. What the hell was a 4 year old child doing outside without supervision? If this this had happened while Kevin's parents were responsible for his well-being, they would have been brought up on charges and Ms. Grace would be pounding her chest and crying to heaven about what awful parents they were. I have the deepest sympathy for the victim in this attack and for his family. This should never have happened, and it wouldn't have happened if the babysitter had been a responsible adult making Kevin her priority. ANY dog of ANY breed might have been food/toy aggressive under the circumstances. If you put an animal on a chain i the elements for life, never have him altered, never interact with him or her, never treat hi (her) like a member of your family, you are to blame if he bites/attacks anyone. I work with animals for a living in a veterinary facility that sees all breeds. Pit Bulls are among the best behaved, least likely to bite of all the breeds we see. Believe me -- if this had been a true attack, Kevin would not have survived it. It was a matter of a poorly trained (or untrained) animal, chained, approached, and feeling threatened by someone entering his territory and then taking away his possession. I do not mean that this was little Kevin's fault by any far stretch of the imagination. I mean it was the babysitter's fault for knowing the dog's temperament and not doing everything within her power to prevent Kevin from going into the dog's territory.
ReplyDelete