Dog that bit girl will be watched for signs of rabies

AUSTINTOWN — If not for a tattoo, the owner of a pit-bull mix that mauled a 6-year-old girl may have never been found.

“Isn’t that a something?” Sheri Foraker, whose daughter Alexis was bitten in the face, remarked about the tattoo.

Alexis was attacked Monday afternoon at Mosquito Lake State Park by a dog that park officials say is owned by Lance Peck, 35, of Champion. Foraker, of South Inglewood Avenue, said after her daughter was bitten, Peck gathered his children and the dog, put them in his vehicle and drove off.

Peck’s identity at the time wasn’t known. It took a park ranger only three hours, however, to find him at his Lauder Avenue home in Champion with his dog because of the tattoo.

For the complete story, see Thursday's Vindicator and Vindy.com.