Parents Sue Over Dog Bite

Christina Cole

Contributor

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Parents of an 8-year-old boy are suing a couple whose 3-year-old Jack Russell Terrier bit their son on the face last February, causing a permanent scar they are claiming will require extensive plastic surgery.

The civil suit was filed in Berkshire Superior Court on Tuesday against the dog owners, Kathleen and Robert Horne. Their attorney requested a jury trial for the case and they are seeking approximately $8,000 in medical expenses and corrective plastic surgery for their son.

Declining a comment on the case, their lawyer is arguing in the suit that the dog had been running loose and the Horne's "negligently failed to maintain, keep, provide, secure and license the dog at all times."

The case was also investigated by the city's animal control officer, Joseph Chague. In his report, Chague said the then-7-year-old boy and his friend were playing outside when they went over to pet Horne's dog, Jackson, on the afternoon of Feb. 22. They were sitting on the front step with the terrier when it reportedly lunged at the boy and bit his right cheek, according to Chague.

The boy's parents took him to Berkshire Medical Center, where he received multiple stitches for his injury.

Chague quarantined the animal for safety purposes for several days. Records at the city clerk's office show that the dog was unlicensed.