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Woman attacked by her dog
YOUNGSTOWN
The West Side owner of a pit-bull terrier is healing from attack wounds, and her pet is in the hands of the Mahoning County dog warden after the animal attacked her over the weekend.
Marisa Bodnar, 34, of Hampton Court, was rushed to St. Elizabeth Health Center late Sunday after calling police when she was attacked by her large, white female pit bull at the family home. Police did not say what her injuries are, but she was able to briefly speak with officers before being taken to the hospital by ambulance.
According to police, Bodnar said she had walked the dog and returned home when the animal attacked her without warning or provocation. Police arrived to find the animal on the front porch, covered in blood and acting aggressively toward officers. Bodnar, through an open window, asked police to call an ambulance.
Officers used a stun gun on the dog, but that was ineffective. Officers then used pepper spray on the animal, which made it stay away long enough for police to get Bodnar out of the house and to a waiting ambulance.
Dave Nelson of the dog-warden’s office came to the house and took the dog into custody. Police noted there were two other dogs inside the house in cages.
The city passed an ordinance in 2006 requiring containment of pit bulls and all vicious dogs in secure enclosures or on a secure leash, annual registration of such dogs with the city health department, and at least $100,000 in liability insurance for such animals. Violation of the ordinance is classified as a first-degree misdemeanor, with a mandatory $1,000 fine upon the second offense.
A man identified in police reports as Bodnar’s husband, 38-year-old Michael Welsh, told police and the dog warden the couple has all the necessary paperwork and insurance for the dogs in the home, but Bodnar has had previous charges concerning dogs.
In 2008, she was charged with misdemeanor counts of having a vicious dog and not maintaining the necessary liability insurance on her dogs. She ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to one-year probation.
Bodnar also was cited in September this year with multiple counts of prohibition of pit bulls in the city. Those citations are pending in Youngstown Municipal Court.
A 30-year-old South Hazelwood Avenue woman was attacked by one of her pit-bull terriers in March. That woman also had received several misdemeanor citations from city authorities for dog-related issues, including failure to confine vicious animals, failure to obtain liability insurance for a pit bull and dogs running at large.