ROCKINGHAM — A young girl is in a hospital and two dogs are under quarantine in the Richmond County Animal Shelter following an attack Wednesday afternoon.
According to an incident report from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Animal Enforcement unit, 6-year-old Haiden Prevatte was attacked by two pit bulls after getting off the bus Wednesday afternoon at Jessica Avenue.
David Covington told the investigating deputy that he was following the bus and saw two dogs attack the girl, according to the report. He said that he “grabbed a stick from the ditch and beat the dogs” away from the victim.
When the Animal Enforcement deputy arrived, he said the girl was with medics on the ambulance with numerous lacerations on her torso and limbs.
She was initially taken to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital-Richmond and later airlifted to the UNC Hospital Trauma Center in Chapel Hill.
According to post on the Facebook page What’s Up Richmond County, Tammy Prevatte said the girl “had 5 staples in her head, 21 lacerations, a punctured lung, 2 broken ribs, a chest tube and to many stitches to count.”
“She is very very sore but doing very good right now!” Prevatte said.
In the post, Prevatte thanked Covington “for saving my niece’s life!” She also thanked the bus driver, the Animal Enforcement deputy and all the medical staff involved.
The deputy found the dogs and their owner, Mary Wilson, of Billy Covington Road, at her home. Wilson was cited for failing to have one of the dogs vaccinated, which comes with a $100 fine; and for violating a county ordinance for having dogs at large, which resulted in two $50 fines, one for each dog.
The dogs, a brown male pit bull named Buster and a brown female pit named Honey, were taken to the animal shelter for a 10-day rabies quarantine.
Chief Deputy Mark Gulledge said Friday that Animal Enforcement had received two calls earlier in the day about the dogs roaming around the area, but deputies could not locate them.
Animal Enforcement deputies are currently in the process of having the dogs declared dangerous under the county ordinance. Sheriff James Clemmons will make the final determination.
If they are declared to be dangerous, Wilson will have three weeks to erect and enclosure made with heavy gauge chain-link fence at least 10 feet high, 10 feet wide and 6 feet high, a four-inch concrete slab, a roof suitable to contain the dog and a double padlock, according to the county ordinance. She will also have to post “Beware of dog” signs on the property.
Also under the ordinance, Wilson will have to pay any fees to the animal shelter for each day the animal is impounded and file written consent allowing Animal Enforcement deputies to inspect for compliance at any time for five years.
With the case being a civil matter, Gulledge said it would be up to the girl’s parent(s) to seek restitution from Wilson.
There are currently three deputies serving as Animal Enforcement officers to handle calls and complaints.
Gulledge said this is the first random attack he can recall since the sheriff’s office took over enforcement in the county. A Hamlet man was killed by his own dogs in late 2017.
