Border Collie and 163 stitches ruins a girls life

Child copes with dog bite injuries, fears

April 22, 2009
— THOMASVILLE — A little Coolidge girl lost her best friend on Wednesday.
The Rottweiler Hanna Cannon fed with a bottle when the canine was the only puppy in its litter to survive was to go to a new home Wednesday. The 9-year-old girl no longer wants the dog, Trixie, around.
That was her best friend, said Jack Cannon, Hannas father.
Something happened to the child Saturday, April 5, that changed the way she feels about dogs. The incident is causing other emotional repercussions.
Hanna was in the back yard of her Coolidge neighbors house when she was attacked by a Border Collie. She had gone next door where others had gathered around where a golf cart that had bogged down.
When the cart was free, Hanna and others were walking away. The girl was swinging her arms when the dog attacked, said her mother, Diane Cannon.
She did not try to pet the dog, Mrs. Cannon said.
Some 163 stitches were required at the Archbold Memorial Hospital emergency room to close bite wounds.
One of the childs teeth was chipped and another loosened during the attack.
She had stitches on the inside and out, the mother said.
Mrs. Cannon said holes left by the dogs teeth are in her daughters right eyebrow and the top of her left arm.
A long, deep, jagged gash from the attack stretches along the girls right cheek.
She reached up with her left arm, she said, to cover her face, the girls mother said.
Lt. Melissa Hart, of the Thomasville-Thomas County Humane Society animal control division, said the child was flopping her arms when the attack occurred.
The dogs owner had the option of putting the border collie in quarantine at her personal veterinarians or at the humane society animal shelter. The owner chose her Moultrie veterinarian. After 10 days, the dog was released and has returned home.
It has a clean bill of health, Hart said.
The animal control officer said she considers the attack provoked by the child.
You have provoked bites, and you have unprovoked, Hart explained.
The dog, Kujo, which is confined to a fenced-in area, has not been a problem before, and animal control has not received complaints about the canine, she said.
The dog could have felt threatened and bit her, Hart said.
The attack took place in an area of the county zoned agriculture. Hart said Thomas County law allows dog to roam free in agriculturally zoned areas.
According to a Thomas County Sheriffs Office incident report, the dog is owned by Gail Tillman, who told the Times-Enterprise Wednesday she did not want to comment about the incident.
According to the report, Tillman told a deputy the child swatted at the dog, but never made contact when the dog attacked her.
Hannas father said his daughter has been afraid to sleep alone since the attack. She insists on sleeping with her parents.
Thomas Countys animal control ordinance defines a dangerous animal as one that inflicts a severe injury on a human being or domesticated animal without provocation on public or private property at any time after March 31, 1989.
The ordinance continues: An animal shall not be a dangerous animal or potentially dangerous animal within the meaning of this article if the injury inflicted by the animal was sustained by a person, who, at the time, was committing a willful trespass or other tort or was tormenting, abusing or assaulting the animal or had in Child copes with dog bite injuries, fears Page 1 of 2
http://www.moultrieobserver.com/local/local_story_112222624.html/resources_pr... 4/25/2009
the past been observed or reported to have tormented, abused or assaulted the animal or was committing or attempting to commit a crime.
Thomas County government contracts with the humane society for animal control.
Hanna is a student at Cross Creek Elementary School. Kids at school are calling her scarface, said her father, an officer at Valdosta State Prison.
The Thomasville plastic surgeon who treated Hanna after the attack will see her again May 25.
Mr. Cannon has contacted a lawyer about the familys need to recoup medical expenses resulting from the attack.
The family has medical insurance through Mrs. Cannons job as a cafeteria worker at Balfour School for Young Children, but the insurance will pay only 70 percent of Hannas medical bills.
The child will require plastic surgery on her face after the May checkup and again in 10 to 15 years, her father said.
This will be with her the rest of her life, Mr. Cannon said.

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[gpaslett]

Pit bulls are for homo's

[FUzupf]

@gpaslett I guess I'm a homo then.

...a homosapien!  hahahahaha! I crack myself up.

[kelleyhice]

i have read the entire article and every comment and you are still babbling. not sure which was better... your video or your audio

[FUzupf]

@kelleyhice difinently the babble. I would laugh my ass off too if I heard some guy reading an article and effin up all the words too. haha.

[googleisshittoss]

A few dogs bite a few humans...well, yep..happens sometimes.

Human Beings of course, wipe out thousands of their own, without even batting an eyelid!...I'd rather spend my time with a Border Collie anyday!

[profssor]

Dude there is so much insanity on here. Discussion about whatever happened is not berating the girl. I'd bet the little girl ain't reading this. What is the point of posting a video showing a picture of a fucking border collie while reading this anyway? Screw all of you, we know there are bad owners, it means nothing about the breed. Children get all bent out of shape about dogs. If parents had any sense they would teach their children that they should not go up to any dog on the street.

[NomadElectricus]

oh well. biting is common to untrained herding dogs. i have one who bit me a few times. he has learned since. border collies are wonderful and loving but do have very strong wild instincts and thats what makes them awesome. respect them and they will respect you for life.

[HedgieDiva]

@FUzupf I have a wolfxcollie and a pit! and guess who is my fav the pit! border collies have snapped and my collie mix fractured my hand once, I love pits and I'm happy as heck you post the truth on here thank you!

[HedgieDiva]

@gpaslett Bordercollies are for homo's/

[Go4CanadianBacon]

@Go4CanadianBacon

Not the dog's fault and not the girls fault. It was man's fault. Poor training and poor socialization will make a scared beast out of any species on earth.

I'm not sure what you are trying to prove with this page but it sounds to me like your reading it off the internet and have no connection to the incident at all. Stop trying to get attention from those you don't know and go be productive somewhere.

[Go4CanadianBacon]

The fact of the matter is the dog was poorly trained. It was not socialized right and has nothing to do with the breed or the fact that it is a dog. All dogs no matter what breed are capable of being productive members of society. This dog attacked her because it felt it should. Through self defence or a small sign that the girl was giving told the dog it should do this. It was more than likely scared of the girl and when she waved her arms around it felt threatened.

[awesomedav]

The collie was herding, kids are just sheep with no wool on them to a collie. I would assume that it started off with "the eye" that collies use to herd sheep. Once that didn't work, nipping was probably used that scared the girl and escalated from there. They both did what was natural to them.

[Rachel22334]

Guys, collies are wonderful animals. I have a collie too (Check out my video) and he is the best thing ever. He is the sweetest and most adorable dog ever :P How a dog acts depends on its owner. If it treats it badly, the dog will obviously be more ferocious, and if the owners treat it well, then the dog will be friendly. Each animal have different characteristics, just like humans. Some people can be mean and some people can be nice. It's all about how you were raised and your surroundings.

[diamondpup97]

DOGS HAVE MOMENTS!!!!! Never say anything like this. THEY DON"T UNDERSTAND!!! THEY're dogs they have no clue. SElf defense its a new place!!!!! MAyb the dog didnt like this person. SO the dog attacked

[Epiphify]

Sooo many things wrong with this article. I feel sorry for this kid. She's going to grow up to be a whiney little girl so long as her parents keep victimizing her like that. Things like this happen. Her parents need to grow up and move on, and teach their little girl how to move on instead of hiring a lawyer when it may not even have been the owner's fault. Also, a few scars can be hidden and fixed. Mr. Cannon has no damn clue how it will affect her life. She may get over it with time. Dumbass.

[BellaWhiteWolf]

To Border Collies, kids r sheep wit no wool. A kid runnin across a yard is, to da dog, a sheep dat wandered off. Border Collies natural instinct is "herdin". If da kids not ready for it, da experience is traumatic. Kid reacts by runnin faster. Since da kid/sheep wont cooperate, da dog escalates his attempt by barkin/nippin. Kid panics. Cycle escalates till da dog resorts to last means of control - grippin/bitin, used to grab stubborn sheep or cow. Both r doin wat comes natural to them.