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5-year-old mauled by pit bull

Dog bit girl in the head, face, arms and legs while she was playing outside.

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By Richard Wilson, Staff Writer Updated 4:05 AM Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The parents of a 5-year-old girl who is recovering from a pit bull attack could be charged with child endangering pending a police investigation.

Neighbors said the victim, Payton Tunstall, was playing in the backyard of her father’s house in the 400 block of Knightsbridge Drive at around 11:25 a.m. Monday, July 13, when the attack occurred.

The pit bull, which was being kept at the residence, had gotten loose from a cage and caused serious injuries to the little girl, biting her on the head, face, legs and arms, said Hamilton police Sgt. Tom Kilgour.

The dog also attacked Payton’s mother, who was the only adult at the home when the attack occurred, Kilgour said.

The girl was in serious condition when she was flown by medical helicopter to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Her condition was not being released Monday night.

The dog was taken by the Butler County Dog Warden and is being housed at the Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton, where it could be euthanized.

Under the city’s ordinance codes, a pit bull is automatically classified as a “vicious dog.” Residents are allowed to keep such dogs as pets, but they must be confined in secure enclosures.

Calvin Jackson, who was visiting his mother in the neighborhood Monday afternoon after the attack, said he doesn’t trust pit bulls and doesn’t agree with some who think “it’s cool to have them” and train them for dogfighting.

“I tell my kids to stay away from those dogs,” Jackson said. “They’re too moody. They’re really aggressive, even as puppies. I don’t think they like kids.”

Kilgour said investigators planned to wait until today, July 14, to talk to the parents.

“Our focus right now is for the child’s recovery,” he said.

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