Dog-Attack Victim Leaves Hospital With 200 Stitches, Wired Jaw
Albuquerque Journal www.abqjournal.com
By Isabel Sanchez
June 16, 2004--Emma-Leigh Chambers-Allen, 5, left University of New Mexico Hospital on
Tuesday with 200 stitches, a navy and white cervical collar, a wired jaw and
bouquets of pink balloons that floated into the spring sky.
Before June 6, Emma-Leigh had never been sick, had never been to the
doctor's office except for shots. On June 6, she was attacked by her
next-door neighbor's pit bull.
"You never know how awful it is until you live through it," said her
mother, Tamara Chambers.
It will take six to eight weeks before the collar protecting Emma-Leigh's
fractured neck vertebrae can come off, Chambers said. The little girl has
three breaks in her jaw. It will take about two years, Chambers was told, to
repair the facial wounds with plastic surgery.
"She doesn't know what happened," Chambers said. "Last night she said her
nose hurt, and asked 'what did I do?' ''
Chambers had been living in her Los Chavez home in Valencia County for
about a month. A fence separating her property from her neighbor's was in
the works— in fact, the day before Emma-Leigh's attack, Chambers said, her
father was looking for lumber to build the fence.
"It really bothered me," Chambers said. "Our yards are so close."
Emma-Leigh had been warned about the dog, Chambers said, but added, "She's
a little baby."
Valencia County Undersheriff Bill Martinez said Tuesday the case was being
investigated but could be sent to the District Attorney's Office for review
by the end of the week.
If charges are filed, he said, they would be for felony child abuse.
The dog was put down by Valencia County Animal Control. Martinez said
animal control had answered at least two complaints about the dog— one for
chasing livestock and one for charging a person on a bicycle.
Teresa Shelton, the dog's owner, said the 2-year-old male pit bull was
always tied up. Martinez said it's not clear whether the dog was restrained
at the time of the attack.
Robert Lee, Shelton's brother, said the dog, named Bruno, was not
neutered. Lee wants to set up a fund for people who can't afford to fence in
or kennel their dogs. "Maybe we can prevent another attack," he said. "It
really is tragic."
Sen. Sue Wilson Beffort, R-Albuquerque, last week proposed making it
illegal to breed pit bulls in New Mexico and to raise the penalties for
bites.
On Tuesday, Emma-Leigh rode out of the hospital on a plastic Red Flyer
wagon, wearing a new pink dress, carrying a pink box of Juicy Juice, draped
in a pink lei and holding a star-shaped balloon that said, "May all your
wishes come true."
Chambers isn't sure what her daughter's wish is. Her own, she said, is
that none of this had happened. But because it did, she wishes some family,
somewhere, decides to get rid of a dangerous dog.
Then she looked at Emma-Leigh, who had just answered the question "what do
you want to do when you get home?" with a heart-stopping smile. "She's still
going to be beautiful," Chambers said.
Emma-Leigh isn't going straight home, though. She will stay for a few days
with her grandparents, who also live in Los Chavez.
At her own house, friends and family are building a fence.
