KULPMONT -- A police investigation into the April 19 bullmastiff attack that injured 9-year-old Amanda Smith, of 1039 Chestnut St., cleared another dog of charges made by neighbors that it was running loose and provoked the bullmastiff into a rage.
The bullmastiff, named Bandit, was being walked on Maple Street by Amanda and another 9-year-old girl when a neighbor's dog began to bark at Bandit. When the girls tried to prevent the two dogs from fighting, Bandit turned on Amanda, ripping at her face and causing multiple fractures and injuries.
"That night, I heard what people said about a black dog, almost blaming it and its owners for the attack," Kulpmont Police Chief Rick Wilson said Monday.
"It was something we immediately investigated. I have signed statements that the black dog was contained in its yard," he said. "Yes, it was apparently barking. But it never jumped a fence, and it did not charge the bullmastiff. Its owners are therefore not going to be cited."
After the attack, the bullmastiff was held at the Sunbury Animal Hospital for a mandatory 10-day observation period. Its owner, Maryjoy Ruffner, 45, of 1040 Chestnut St., signed papers to euthanize Bandit, Wilson said, "and as far as I know, the dog was put down."
Ruffner has been charged with a summary ordinance violation for failing to keep her dog under control.
Smith, discharged from the hospital April 28, is at home. She has had two surgeries, one to reconstruct her nose and the other to fix her jaw. Doctors are giving her time to build strength before she undergoes an operation to repair a tear duct. Plastic surgery also will be needed.
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