Parents allowed dog to attack two children

HILLSBORO, Ore. – A Hillsboro couple faces at least three years in prison after pleading guilty to felony assault for letting their part-pit bull dog attack their children as discipline.

Joyce Hoskins, 47, and David Hoskins, 46, pleaded guilty to three counts Friday and are held without bail. They have been in jail since May 25.

Their 8-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son have been hospitalized because of the dog attacks and are in foster homes.

The dog, Nigel, a mix of pit bull, Doberman pinscher, German shepherd and Labrador, has been euthanized.

A neighbor, Voight Barnhardt, said he called police March 19 when he heard the girl scream as she left for school.

“There is no way to describe what we heard,” he told the Oregonian.

“There was a kid crying and a dog ripping her to pieces. It was bloodcurdling.”

The girl required stitches to treat tears and puncture wounds.

A Washington County prosecutor, Andrew Erwin, said the boy tried to help his sister.

Investigators found the dog had previously torn a chunk from the boy’s ear and that both children had suffered previous bites that required treatment.

Judge Marco Hernandez said he would sentence Joyce Hoskins to no more than three years, two months because of her limited mental capacities.

That’s the maximum for the three counts under state guidelines.

But Erwin said he would argue for more time for David Hoskins, which is permitted if Hernandez finds aggravating factors.

Sentencing was set for Sept. 23.

Erwin said he can produce witnesses to testify that the dog was quarantined after biting the boy last summer and was to be euthanized, but was returned when Joyce Hoskins protested.

County animal control authorities cannot euthanize an animal if the owner objects.

“When you see a child bitten by a dog you don’t think of it being the parent letting it happen, you think of a dog getting loose,” Erwin said. “This is not a random act that you can blame on the dog.”