Robert Soto describes what he had to do to keep his 19-month-old disabled son from getting bitten in the face by a service dog in the Mall of Abilene last week.
His son is in a special wheel chair. His mother, Tessa, says he born with a defect in his lower back.
The dog that almost bit him was a service dog and because of that distinction they were told by mall officials that nothing could be done.
The dog's handler a disabled veteran, says the dog did not bite the child, and instead 'head-butted' the child in the mouth.
Service dog's usually wear vests that have a sign telling people not to pet them. That was the case in this incident as well.
Arron Venoy with the Abilene Animal Shelter said the dog was quarantined at its owners home.
He also said after an investigation the dog was found to not be dangerous.
The parents of the boy wanted to know if the man and his dog would still be allowed in the mall.
Mall of Abilene personnel sent us this statement:
"The local authorities were called when the alleged incident occurred and they determined there was no wrong doing on the part of the service dog or its owner. Therefore no police report was filed.
We fully comply with local and state laws which allow service dogs in the mall."
His son is in a special wheel chair. His mother, Tessa, says he born with a defect in his lower back.
The dog that almost bit him was a service dog and because of that distinction they were told by mall officials that nothing could be done.
The dog's handler a disabled veteran, says the dog did not bite the child, and instead 'head-butted' the child in the mouth.
Service dog's usually wear vests that have a sign telling people not to pet them. That was the case in this incident as well.
Arron Venoy with the Abilene Animal Shelter said the dog was quarantined at its owners home.
He also said after an investigation the dog was found to not be dangerous.
The parents of the boy wanted to know if the man and his dog would still be allowed in the mall.
Mall of Abilene personnel sent us this statement:
"The local authorities were called when the alleged incident occurred and they determined there was no wrong doing on the part of the service dog or its owner. Therefore no police report was filed.
We fully comply with local and state laws which allow service dogs in the mall."
Editorial note:
In our initial reporting of this story, we did not report the dog owner /
handler's side of what transpired. We did report the statement from the mall, and
information provided by Animal Services, as well as the perspective presented
by the parents of the child. However, we did not initially report the point of
view of the dog's owner, a disabled veteran. For that, and the unforeseen affect
our story has had on his activities, we apologize. We will continue to report
on events surrounding this as they merit.
Comments
It does not matter if the son is disabled. It does not matter if the dog has a vest on or not. The important thing here to learn is that service dogs should be attentive to their handlers, not interacting with the public. What's missing from this story includes the antecedents prior to the dog interacting with the child. There is so much vague and ambiguous language in this story; it does nobody any good.
Cindy L.
August 21, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I had a long thought out response to you Robert Soto. But your post shows everyone that you aren't thinking clearly about this situation. As you do, I have 1st amendment rights of free speech. I can post and speak out in my friend's defense. Calling me names, calling me a coward, and showing people you don't care about what your story has done to anyone else simple is exactly what I wanted you to do. Thank you. It truly showed what I needed it to. I'm done here.
Jake R.
July 28, 2012 at 10:52 pm
Dear jake, I am Urijah's father. My name is Robert Soto. First off same on u? Really? U were not there so u have no idea what you are talking about. My father was a veteran and as a proud veteran he was man enough to take responsibility for his own actions and actions of his animals. I do not care what condition your buddy has or you. My son was bitten in the face you coward. I know because I was there I was with my son I wiped the blood from his mouth. I had to remove my son and myself from the situation. I was furious so I am sorry I didn't stick around to go pitbull on your friend and his dog. You complain about witness yet you say you have not spoken to anyone of significance . Your so called friend has not yet tried to contact me or my wife. An apology would go a lot farther than this bull you are posting. Everyone is trying to make it about pittbulls and it is not. It is about a my son getting bitten. I could careless what breed of dog it was, it happened. Your friend got to keep his dog and got a slap on the wrist. What do you have to complain about? You are keeping this going by opening your mouth and speaking without having a clue what you are talking about. I don't care that this dog is nice to your kids. Of course the dog is nice the dog is familiar with them. You are ignorant. You said that the dog is protective of the owner? Then keep the dog away from strangers and definitely don't bring him up to small children. If your friend did know how to handle his dog then he would have never brought him up to my son. So what is the service dog for??? Anxiety?? Really?? Well if you have anything to say or if you wanna actually talk to the person that was there then let exchange numbers or meet up. You are pathetic. If you think I sound upset it is because I am. I don't care if the news carries this and we are not out to bash pittbulls we were out to inform the public.
Robert R.
July 26, 2012 at 11:52 pm
No. However, I know the dog and owner personally. So does my 1 year old, 3 year old, and 6 year old. I've been around the dog enough to know he is trained and certified. The dog is perfectly friendly. He is protective of the owner. I've know the owner for a decade and I've known the dog since the owner got him. Secondly, I've talked with witnesses who were there. I have not talked to the family. The witnesses I have talked to confirm the dog owner's side of the story. So until the family can produce any hard evidence (video, audio, a independently verified doctor's report or one the owner can get a second opinion, my recommendation to you is to stop putting this in the public eye when its a non-story.
Jake R.
July 26, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Jake R. were you at the mall when the incident happened?
Tessa T.
July 25, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Jake R. were you at the mall when the incident happened?
Tessa T.
July 25, 2012 at 5:26 pm
As a disabled veteran with a service dog and as a professional dog trainer, I will state that there is little or no reason for a service dog to act in an aggressive manner. In certain situations my dog is trained to "act" aggressively to keep people away for their own safety, however he will allow them near me if they insist. In accordance with the ADA and Texas law the Mall could have had the dog removed from the premises. A responsible handler should have tried to avoid letting the dog get into a situation where that could have happened. As to "Pitbulls" unless trained to fight or kept in an environment that can breed aggression, they are actually one of the calmest and most loving breeds. Their nickname is "The nanny dog" due to their protectiveness and loving nature towards children.
Gary G.
July 20, 2012 at 10:26 pm
Nope not a fictional person. :) I thought the disabled vet needed some allies on this comment line so the truth would get out. I feel for the boy. Having a disability like that is challenging and heart breaking. However, the disabled vet with the pit bull service dog did nothing wrong. Going public with it has given him panic attacks and seizures. Did you want to mention that? Secondly, there is no witness to the biting. I hope you are willing give the vet's doctor a chance to prove the report is not consistent with a dog bite. So far I don't see it.
Jake R.
July 14, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Not sure who Jake R is but I'm pretty sure your just an person who likes to stir the pot. What knowledge do you have of the matter? The Dr's report confirms it. The fact of the matter is we are persuing this only because it seems to be no big deal. I would not put it past a reporting establishment to create a fictional person to create strife. Given the lack to detail that this story was given. The alleged service dog , since it was never proven that this dog was properly trained.
Alicia A.
July 14, 2012 at 3:23 am
Same with you Alicia. Just because you didn't get your way doesn't mean anything happened. Shame on you as well.
Jake R.
July 13, 2012 at 7:48 pm
Bessie M was not present when this incident occured. She has no first hand information and this is libel. There was no bite. Witnesses confirmed this. The Police confirmed this. This is nothing more than a lie and an attempt to get attention that has harmed the owner and the dog with stress. Shame on you Mr. Soro and Bessie M.
Jake R.
July 13, 2012 at 7:43 pm
The way the KTAB news worded the incident is not exactly correct. I understand the dog bit the disabled child. The news stressed "...from getting bitten in the face...", "...almost bit him...". The pit bull dog bit the handicapped child in mouth. His mouth was bleeding. The dog's owner did approached the child on his own. The news also stressed that "Service dog's usually wear vests that have a sign telling people not to pet them. That was the case in this incident as well". We resent this statement which insinuate that the child did wrong. The handicapped child did not approached the dog and pet him. The dog owner came over and spoke with the child's parents about his service dog. Therefore, the dog owner broke the rules for letting his dog came closer to the handicapped child. Just because he is a handicapped veteran with "emotional problem" and have a service dog for a companion, he gets the upperhand in this situation. We are talking about a disabled handicapped child here who might not have a face had his father did not act quickly to protect him. We are minority who also have rights. More than so than the service dog. Did I say I am the child's grandma?!
Bessie M.
July 13, 2012 at 10:15 am
The way the KTAB news worded the incident is not exactly correct. I understand the dog bit the disabled child. The news stressed "...from getting bitten in the face...", "...almost bit him...". The pit bull dog bit the handicapped child in mouth. His mouth was bleeding. The dog's owner did approached the child on his own. The news also stressed that "Service dog's usually wear vests that have a sign telling people not to pet them. That was the case in this incident as well". We resent this statement which insinuate that the child did wrong. The handicapped child did not approached the dog and pet him. The dog owner came over and spoke with the child's parents about his service dog. Therefore, the dog owner broke the rules for letting his dog came closer to the handicapped child. Just because he is a handicapped veteran with "emotional problem" and have a service dog for a companion, he gets the upperhand in this situation. We are talking about a disabled handicapped child here who might not have a face had his father did not act quickly to protect him. We are minority who also have rights. More than so than the service dog. Did I say I am the child's grandma?!
Bessie M.
July 13, 2012 at 10:12 am
I guess I'm lost in heavy traffic ! A Pit Bull trained as a service dog??? Either I have too much common sense or not enough. I just do not understand this.
Mike Z.
July 11, 2012 at 6:47 pm
We would like to make a clarification about the motivation in bringing this incident, involving Urijah Soto being bitten by a service dog, to the attention of the public. Once this incident occurred we took proper measures notifying Abilene Mall security then speaking directly to an officer of the Abilene Police Dept. that arrived at the scene and finally by calling Abilene Animal Control. The frustration came from not being apprised of the process and basically having a 19 month old victim of a dog bite cast aside. We asked each one of these different entities for information that would give us a sense that they had our interests as well as other patron%u2019s interest in mind in a non-biased manner but we were met with condescension, insensitivity for the severity of the matter, and given the run around on what steps we needed to take to have this matter addressed. Once the new information that the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) representative sent us clarification of the specific amendment and further stating that according to the amendment codified at 28 C.F.R. Part 36.104 for purposes of the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (effective January 1, 2009)
And further more that the crime deterrent effects of an animal's presence and the provision of emotional support, well-being, comfort, or companionship do not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition."
However, a public accommodation may ask an individual with a disability to remove a service animal from the premises if (i) the animal is out of control and the animal's handler does not take effective action to control it; or (ii) the animal is not housebroken. Id at 36.302(c)(2).
As a member of the Soto family I hope those viewers that have seen this brief broadcast and have weighed in will have an understanding that we are trying to work with all parties involved to educate and prevent possible injury to other individuals.
Alicia A.
July 11, 2012 at 4:42 pm
We had an incident with a pit bull in the Mall of Abilene. The dog growled and lunged at my daughter, who is 21 months old. She was standing at the entrance to a store and looking at a display. The dog handler quickly said "Sorry" and kept walking. We never saw the dog until it growled and lunged at my toddler. It would have been able to reach her if she had been a few steps closer to the door. It was scary! This dog either needs more intense training to be a service dog or needs to be taken out of service and kept at home.
Jolee J.
July 11, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Jolee J.
July 11, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Jessica S.
July 11, 2012 at 2:16 pm
