Pit bull owner arrested in Kingston dog mauling
By ANDREA BULFINCH
Union Leader Correspondent
6 hours, 31 minutes ago
KINGSTON – The owner of a pit bull that was shot and killed on Dec. 20 while attacking a neighbor's dog, has been arrested on charges relating to the attack.
Mark George, 26 Mill Road, faces three violations after being arrested by state police: violating the dog-control and rabies-vaccination laws, and failure to register a dog. He will appear in Plaistow District Court Feb. 19. George faces no jail time, but may be fined.
Wiley, the 11-year-old black Labrador retriever is making slow but steady progress in his recovery, said owner Dorothy Routhier, 22 A Mill Road.
Wiley rests on blankets on the living room floor while he is tended to by family members. Since the attack, a ramp has been installed onto the deck where he spent many days enjoying the outdoors.
Routhier has been sleeping on the couch because wherever she goes, he tries to crawl behind her. With her close by, the chances of him moving around and further injuring himself are lowered.
He was first treated at Plaistow-Kingston Medical Center for punctures and lacerations to his body. Pictures taken by Routhier show wounds he suffered and the stitches to hold the reconstruction surgery in place.
Veterinarians operated on Wiley only after significant blood loss had been recovered. Once home, Routhier noticed he wasn't moving much and called their regular veterinarian to ask if it may be time to put Wiley to sleep. After taking some x-rays, it was discovered he'd also suffered a fractured hip in the attack.
"He's doing better. He's still fighting infection," Routhier said.
Wiley is also still having trouble walking, and because of that, cannot be let outside for fear he may fall.
Routhier said this has been a difficult time because she has known the pit bull owner and his family for some time.
"It makes it harder," she said.
George was not available for comment.
Though Wiley isn't a young pup and also deals with arthritis as he ages,
Routhier said he's gaining strength day by day.
"He's a tough old dog," she said.
Her son Joshua, 10, and Wiley are a year apart in age and the two have grown up together she said. Routhier and her husband adopted Wiley from a shelter in Massachusetts when they thought they would not be able to have children.
Now, Wiley and Joshua are great pals, she said.
Her son was not at home at the time of the attack, when Kingston Police Chief Donald Briggs Jr. had to shoot the pit bull in order to end the battering. It was the first time Briggs had been forced to shoot a domestic animal in his 29 years of being a law enforcement officer.
The pit bull reportedly lunged at Briggs and then went back to attacking Wiley. Briggs fired a warning shot, and when that got no response from the dog, he shot and killed the pit bull.
As for Routhier, who had been described as being in hysterics during the attack, she knows Wiley was seconds away from death as well.
"I'm just thankful he's alive," she said.
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