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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

7-Year-Old Newman Lake Boy Hurt In Attack By Neighbor’s Dog

A 7-year-old Newman Lake boy was bitten several times Friday night by a neighbor’s dog, the third severe attack reported in the Spokane Valley in less than a week.

Jacob Slocum was playing ball with three other boys about 7 p.m. when he was attacked. The boys’ ball bounced under a deck near where the dog, known as Razor, was tied to a concrete block.

When Slocum went to retrieve the ball, the dog attacked him, dragging the block behind him, said animal control officer Jennifer Kline.

Slocum was taken by his parents to Valley Hospital and Medical Center where he received 15 stitches for bites on his right arm, back and left hip, and released, Kline said.

Last week, a 10-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl both were hospitalized briefly after being mauled in separate incidents by dogs.

Taylor Trader, 10, was bitten multiple times on his right leg, face and neck during an attack at a neighbor’s house on April 16. Kenneth Young, 16, kicked and pulled the labrador mix off of Taylor. Otherwise, animal control officials said, the attack could have been fatal.

On April 17, a chow leaped over or crawled underneath two fences and bit 5-year-old Chanelle Vassar in the face while she played in her back yard. Vassar suffered puncture wounds to both sides of her nose and needed plastic surgery to repair her right eyelid, which was torn during the attack.

Taylor and Vassar are recovering at home from their injuries.

“I’m just totally amazed by this,” said Kline, who has investigated two of the attacks. “I’ve been working (for animal control) 12 years now and I’ve never seen a steady run like this before.”

Each of the six cages designated to hold dangerous dogs at the county’s animal shelter is full.

Already this year animal control officials have deemed 18 dogs dangerous following attacks, more than half of which have occurred in the Valley, said Director Nancy Sattin. Typically, animal control officials deem about one dog per month dangerous.

Jacob Slocum’s father, David, said the attack on his son was unprovoked and happened while he was looking for a ball.

“He turned around to come down (the deck stairs), and when he did the dog grabbed him by his shirt,” David Slocum said.

David Slocum is concerned about the severity of the attack even though it was unprovoked. One of the boys playing with Jacob Slocum had to kick the dog to get it to quit biting the boy.

“These things happen, but they shouldn’t happen like that,” he said.

Animal control officers are still trying to determine who owns the dog. The dog, believed to be a husky/wolf mix, will be declared dangerous, Sattin said. Its owner also could face misdemeanor charges of owning a dog with vicious propensities, she said.

The dogs involved in the two other attacks are being held at the shelter during a 10-day rabies quarantine period.

The lab that attacked Taylor last week also was declared dangerous, and its owner, Lori Walsh, was cited for owning a dog with vicious propensities.

Trina Fleisher, owner of the chow, turned her dog over to animal control to be euthanized rather than fight the dangerous dog declaration.

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