Father of Teen Bitten by Rottweiler Files Lawsuit
Corbin News Journal
October 7, 2005, CORBIN, KENTUCKY -- A Corbin man is suing the former owners of a two-year-old Rottweiler that bit and severely injured his daughter on July 3.
According to a civil complaint filed in Whitley Circuit Court this week, William Baker is asking "sufficient compensation" be awarded in the wake of the dog attack. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Judy Fluty, Rocky's owner, and Phillip and Betty Luke, owners of the home Fluty rents.
"If you'd seen the scar on my daughter's leg, you'd understand," Baker said. "There's been a tremendous amount of pain and suffering on our part."
The dog, named "Rocky," became the center of controversy after he bit 12-year-old Kendra Bain on June 26 and then 15-year-old Michelle Baker a week later on July 3. Bain, who lives next door to Fluty, was bitten on the arm.
Baker, who's injury was much worse, was bitten on the leg. She was unable to walk, without assistance, for several weeks and has already undergone surgery because of the bite. William Baker said further plastic surgery would be needed to reduce the scar left from the wound.
Baker was bitten while visiting a friend at Fluty's residence on Third Street in Corbin. She said a mutual friend enticed her to pet the dog in order to get it to be more comfortable with her. Fluty said she'd warned Baker, and other kids in the neighborhood, that the dog would bite and not to go near it. Both attacks occurred while the dog was chained and confined to Fluty's backyard.
At the time of the bite, Rocky was ordered quarantined by the Whitley County Health Department. The dog was confined to Fluty's backyard on a long "runner" chain until after the second attack when it was more restrained by a log chain. Fluty gave Rocky to residents of Louisa, a town near Ashland, in late July and no longer owns the dog.
