Former Trumbull Resident Bitten by Pit Bull Wants It Put Down

Cecilia Augustine says she didn't get a friendly welcome when she returned to her mother's former home on Waller Road in Trumbull on Feb. 6.

Instead, a relative's pit bull jumped on the 60-year-old woman, scratched her and tore a chunk out of her leg when she walked in, she told the Trumbull Times. Now she has hired an attorney and seeks to have the dog euthanized.

After the incident, she walked, bleeding, to her car and drove herself to a local hospital. She's also undergone several surgeries and says she now takes anxiety medication stemming from the attack, the Times reported.

Trumbull Animal Control Officer Lynn Dellabianca told the Times the dog was quarantined for two weeks but was not observed acting aggressively at the Animal Shelter. But it did need to get its vaccinations, she said.

Dellabianca reportedly said: "Right now, there are no grounds to declare the dog vicious, because, unfortunately, she entered the house and the dog was doing what it thought its job was." She has not received any complaints from neighbors and the dog has been returned to the home, according to the Times.

Dellabianca also called the incident unfortunate, noting that although Augustine had permission to be there, the dogs were acting naturally because they lived there.

Dellabianca has said pit bulls have a bad reputation partly because some people don't train them to behave.

She is passionate about proper training for dogs. She cites a “pit bull overpopulation” in shelters throughout the country, mainly because the breed is misunderstood. 

“Everything is done wrong with them mainly because of the public’s perception of them," Dellabianca said. "Many times they’re taken away from their mothers too young and are raised by owners that don’t train them properly and aren’t responsible."