Bystanders saved life of 10-year-old
Child badly bitten by pack of pit bulls
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Caltanique Domino, 10, ran for her life Wednesday when a pack of pit bulls tore down Fairfields Avenue chasing her and a group of her friends.
The four dogs caught up with Caltanique, jumped on her, knocking her to the ground where they began tearing at her flesh.
“They tried to rip her body apart,” said Simone Domino, Caltanique’s mother. “They would have killed her if the Cox man had not come along.”
Maurice Campbell of Cox Communications had just finished working on a routine power supply check on Fairfields Avenue when he drove past a group of screaming children running down the road near the 5200 block.
“As Maurice drove past them, he looked in his rearview mirror to see what was going on,” said Joey Bertin, Campbell’s supervisor at Cox Communications. “He saw that a pack of dogs had caught one of the little girls and had her pinned down.”
Campbell turned his truck around and drove toward the attack.
“He jumped out of his truck and grabbed a cable caddy,” Bertin said. A cable caddy is similar to a large spool, he said.
“As Maurice was running toward the girl, a woman, who had been sitting in a van honking her horn at the dogs, also jumped out and ran toward the child,” Bertin said. “She had a cane or an umbrella or something like that. They both started beating the dogs off of the little girl.”
The dogs finally left and Campbell called 911. Neither Campbell nor the woman, who has not yet been identified, were bitten by the dogs.
Campbell stayed with the child until an ambulance and police arrived at the scene, Bertin said.
Before the attack, Caltanique and a friend were walking down the 5100 block of Fairfields Avenue toward the friend’s former house to check the mail for her mother, Domino said.
“Caltanique is messed up real bad from it,” Domino said.
Domino said that Caltanique was bitten at least six or seven times on her head, six or seven times on her thighs and shoulders, backs of her legs, chest, lips, ear and eyelid.
“They tore off half of her ear, ripped her eyelid and split open her lips,” Domino said. “She has stitches and staples to close the wounds.”
Caltanique also had so many bites on her head that doctors had to shave off her hair to treat the wounds, Domino said.
“But she is strong,” the mother said. “She’s still smiling and talking to her friends.”
Caltanique was still in Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center on Friday.
East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control officers picked up the dogs in the 5200 block of Fairfields Avenue shortly after the attack.
The four male dogs were taken to the Animal Control Center, where they will be held for 10 days to determine whether they have rabies.
Three of the pit bulls were described as large and one was described as medium, according to an Animal Control Center incident report.
“The owner of the dogs signed them over to us,” said Hilton Cole, Animal Control director. “At the end of 10 days, they will be euthanized.”
The owner of the pit bulls, Pamela Lucketta, 5558 Jackson Ave., was issued citations for failing to vaccinate the dogs against rabies, failure to license the dogs, failure to restrain a vicious animal by leash or chain, and permitting an animal to be at large.
Lucketta refused to provide any information about the dogs or the attack during a telephone interview on Friday.
“I was talking to my father in heaven,” she said. “It was out of my control.
“I’m not happy about what happened, but I can’t change it,” she added. “I’m more hurt about it than anybody can be. All I want is for the little girl to be all right.”
Employees at Cox Communications said Friday they were proud of Campbell for stopping the attack.
Campbell told Bertin and others at Cox that he did not want to talk to a reporter.
“He just doesn’t want any recognition for what happened,” Bertin said.
“It’s something I would have expected him to do,” Bertin said. “He’s a gentleman who cares about people. We are all very proud of him.”
The four dogs caught up with Caltanique, jumped on her, knocking her to the ground where they began tearing at her flesh.
“They tried to rip her body apart,” said Simone Domino, Caltanique’s mother. “They would have killed her if the Cox man had not come along.”
Maurice Campbell of Cox Communications had just finished working on a routine power supply check on Fairfields Avenue when he drove past a group of screaming children running down the road near the 5200 block.
“As Maurice drove past them, he looked in his rearview mirror to see what was going on,” said Joey Bertin, Campbell’s supervisor at Cox Communications. “He saw that a pack of dogs had caught one of the little girls and had her pinned down.”
Campbell turned his truck around and drove toward the attack.
“He jumped out of his truck and grabbed a cable caddy,” Bertin said. A cable caddy is similar to a large spool, he said.
“As Maurice was running toward the girl, a woman, who had been sitting in a van honking her horn at the dogs, also jumped out and ran toward the child,” Bertin said. “She had a cane or an umbrella or something like that. They both started beating the dogs off of the little girl.”
The dogs finally left and Campbell called 911. Neither Campbell nor the woman, who has not yet been identified, were bitten by the dogs.
Campbell stayed with the child until an ambulance and police arrived at the scene, Bertin said.
Before the attack, Caltanique and a friend were walking down the 5100 block of Fairfields Avenue toward the friend’s former house to check the mail for her mother, Domino said.
“Caltanique is messed up real bad from it,” Domino said.
Domino said that Caltanique was bitten at least six or seven times on her head, six or seven times on her thighs and shoulders, backs of her legs, chest, lips, ear and eyelid.
“They tore off half of her ear, ripped her eyelid and split open her lips,” Domino said. “She has stitches and staples to close the wounds.”
Caltanique also had so many bites on her head that doctors had to shave off her hair to treat the wounds, Domino said.
“But she is strong,” the mother said. “She’s still smiling and talking to her friends.”
Caltanique was still in Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center on Friday.
East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control officers picked up the dogs in the 5200 block of Fairfields Avenue shortly after the attack.
The four male dogs were taken to the Animal Control Center, where they will be held for 10 days to determine whether they have rabies.
Three of the pit bulls were described as large and one was described as medium, according to an Animal Control Center incident report.
“The owner of the dogs signed them over to us,” said Hilton Cole, Animal Control director. “At the end of 10 days, they will be euthanized.”
The owner of the pit bulls, Pamela Lucketta, 5558 Jackson Ave., was issued citations for failing to vaccinate the dogs against rabies, failure to license the dogs, failure to restrain a vicious animal by leash or chain, and permitting an animal to be at large.
Lucketta refused to provide any information about the dogs or the attack during a telephone interview on Friday.
“I was talking to my father in heaven,” she said. “It was out of my control.
“I’m not happy about what happened, but I can’t change it,” she added. “I’m more hurt about it than anybody can be. All I want is for the little girl to be all right.”
Employees at Cox Communications said Friday they were proud of Campbell for stopping the attack.
Campbell told Bertin and others at Cox that he did not want to talk to a reporter.
“He just doesn’t want any recognition for what happened,” Bertin said.
“It’s something I would have expected him to do,” Bertin said. “He’s a gentleman who cares about people. We are all very proud of him.”
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