Woman charged after son, 4, mauled by pit bull
POSTED: 8:14 a.m. EST, February 4, 2007
Story Highlights• Ohio mom charged with child endangering after family's dog mauled son's foot
• The 4-year-old boy's foot is amputated; the puppy is destroyed
• The boy did not know the dog was biting him because he has spina bifida
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TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) -- The mother of a 4-year-old boy whose foot was mauled by the family's pit bull puppy was charged with child endangering, authorities said Saturday.

Martina Jennings, 23, took her son to a hospital Friday because his foot was bleeding and told authorities she saw blood on the dog's face and chest, Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon said. The foot was amputated.

The boy has no feeling below the waist because of spina bifida, so he did not know the dog was biting him, Skeldon said. Spina bifida is a defect that occurs when the backbone and spinal cord do not close before birth.

The black-and-white puppy was destroyed. Skeldon said he questioned the puppy's ability to cause so much damage because its teeth weren't mature.

Jennings was being held in the Lucas County jail on the felony charge.

The phone rang unanswered at Jennings' home Saturday; it was unclear whether she had retained an attorney.

Copyright 2007 The Associated


Is there more to this story?¿? Theres gotta be!

well if the mother is in fact at fault then yes she should be charged. if her child has a disorder that she knows that doesn't allow him to feel things and she let him wander off then that absolutely is child endangerment.

i feel bad that the dog was destroyed though. if the dog was in his/her own secured yard and someone wanders into that yard and starts teasing/torturing the dog and the dog attacks then that is not the dog's fault.

if the dog was in his/her own secured yard and someone wanders into that yard and starts teasing/torturing the dog and the dog attacks then that is not the dog's fault.

I agree but the story didn't say anything about that. The mother obviously wasn't watching her child or the dog and I agree that she should be charged with something...neglect maybe? I dont know all the things people can be charged for. It just sucks that all pit bulls get bad names because of stupid people.

I agree but the story didn't say anything about that. The mother obviously wasn't watching her child or the dog and I agree that she should be charged with something...neglect maybe? I dont know all the things people can be charged for. It just sucks that all pit bulls get bad names because of stupid people.

yeah i just threw in that rationalization lol. i started an actual debate about that lol

Isn't spina bifida something that babies of meth addicts tend to get more often? From not eating properly before and during their pregnancies?

Isn't spina bifida something that babies of meth addicts tend to get more often? From not eating properly before and during their pregnancies?

Not really my BIL has it and my MIL didnt do meth.

1. The mother is a stupid, ignorant, irresponsible woman.

2. The dog should have been put down, it was the right choice. Any puppy that doesnt even have adult teeth in yet and violently attacks in this manner is not right in the head and should be put to sleep, period. I dont feel bad one little bit, not when there are genuinely nice dogs rotting away in shelters.

wow, poor kid. i am curious about the rest of the story.

:sadeyes I don't even know what to say, it's yet another story about a pit bull.

:sadeyes I don't even know what to say, it's yet another story about a pit bull.

Unfortunately many people that own the breed own them for the wrong reasons and are irresponsible. They are one of my least favorite breeds to train when the individual dog has a history of aggression, because they are extremely deadpan and difficult to read, they give very little warning before acting, and are extemely tenacious and difficult to call off due to their very high level of pain tolerance. I don't think they are more nasty than many other "deemed agressive" breeds, its these other qualities that make them difficult to control. I saw a gorgeous pit yesterday that was sweet as pie with people but just violent with other dogs....its shocking what it takes to get them to stop. People need to know what they are getting into when they acquire certain dogs.

:sadeyes I don't even know what to say, it's yet another story about a pit bull.

I couldnt agree more!!! It makes me :sick

I think that the dog belonged to the family and if that's the case should have been supervised while around the child. We had a baby mauled and killed by a family pit bull across the street from us when we lived in housing. Mom came home from work that morning and the baby was dead on the kitchen floor with both pits in the house and Grandma was sleeping. No charges were pressed and neither of the dogs were destroyed. I don't understand why they charge some and not others.