Second Lynn dog assault in one week

LYNN – A second pit bull attack in less than one week took place early Monday morning in which a small Pekinese dog named Kitten was mauled on Broadway.Animal Control Officer Kevin Farnsworth said the attack happened near Walgreens at 290 Broadway around 7 a.m.”The dog is a full pit bull breed that bit the small Pekinese,” he said. “We’ve had problems with the owner in the past and we’re investigating the issue.”Lynn resident Claire Butcher, who takes Kitten for a walk every morning, said the attack was like a nightmare.”The pit bull came running out of nowhere and knocked me down flat on my back and I hurt my elbow,” she said. “Then it started chewing on poor little Kitten and had its head in its mouth and was shaking it.”Butcher said the 10-pound dog, who belongs to Lynn resident Audrey Sibelle, suffered wounds to one of its eyes and has a cut in its throat.The dog was transported to North Shore Animal Hospital for treatment.”I don’t know if the little one is going to lose her eye or not, because it was basically hanging out,” Butcher said. “Her eye lid is stitched closed for 10 days to see if it will heal.”According to the City Clerks office, two pit bulls – Mad Blue and Simba – are registered to Ashley Lupoli of 252A Broadway.At the time of the attack, Charles Kendrick was walking one of the pit bulls, which broke free from its leash and ran toward Kitten.Farnsworth said the pit bull is listed as having had its rabies vaccination and predicted that the dog would most likely be banned from the city.”Because it wasn’t an attack on a human, it won’t be put down,” he said. “I’ve been doing this job for 22 years and it’s a never-ending battle. People say its not the dog, it’s the owner, but the truth is that its both.”According to Farnsworth, last week’s attack on Lynn schoolteacher Julie Potter is an entirely different situation, in which the mixed breed pit bull named Shadow remains on quarantine until a decision on its fate is made.The owner of the dog is listed as Robin Edwards who lives at 407 Lynnfield St.Confusion continues over what the exact breed of the dog is.According to the City Clerk’s office, the dog is listed as a mixed breed pit bull. The rabies certificate has the dog listed as a rottweiler/pit bull, but Farnsworth said he has his own assumption.”It doesn’t jive with me that the dog is listed as part rottweiler,” he said. “It’s black and white and doesn’t have the distinctive rottweiler look, so I’m going to call it a Labrador/pit bull instead. There are so many different shapes and sizes and unfortunately there isn’t a blood test to find out.”Regardless of its mixture, Farnsworth said Lynn Police Deputy Chief Ken Santoro would ultimately decipher the outcome of the dog.”He’ll call the victim (Potter) and a few witnesses and make a decision,” he said. “Then the owners have 10 days to file an appeal, so we’ll see what happens.”At least two other pit bull attacks happened in Lynn this summer – one that resulted in the dog being shot to death and a second in which the dog was shot, but survived and was later banned from the city.