By Brandi Watters, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON — A woman was attacked by a pit bull Monday after which the dog’s owner beat the animal to death.
According to Detective Mitch Carroll of the Anderson Police Department, police were called to the 2400 block of Jackson Street at about 10:40 p.m. on reports that a female pit bull had attacked a 20-year-old woman.
Carroll said the dog’s alleged owner, 25-year-old Dustin Haskett, pulled the dog from the woman and strangled the animal with an extension cord, according to witness reports.
The attack victim, 20-year-old Kayla Greene, said she and her sister, Erin, were walking down Jackson Street headed to the Ricker’s Gas Station when Erin saw the pit bull trotting toward them.
Erin Greene said she warned her sister not to run, but Kayla took off.
As she ran, Erin said the dog caught her sister and leapt up to her back, biting Kayla near the shoulder.
Kayla said the dog bit her on her arms and buttocks before it was pulled away. Kayla said she was not pulled to the ground by the dog.
She was taken to the hospital for numerous bite wounds and received stitches.
Haskett said once he pulled the dog from Kayla, he took the dog across the street and was handed the handle to a sledge hammer by his friend, 32-year-old Anderson resident Brian Peavler.
“I beat it with a stick,” Haskett said Tuesday. He estimated that he beat the dog for five minutes before it died. Haskett said the dog bit his hand once.
After beating the dog, Haskett said he saw that it was still breathing. “I had my foot on her throat until she was done.”
Lisa Greene, mother of Kayla and Erin, said she witnessed Haskett tie the extension cord around the dog’s neck and lift it off the ground, hanging the dog until it died.
Kayla, Erin and Lisa Greene said that Haskett was the owner of the dog and named it Angel, but Haskett said he had the dog only for two days before it broke out of his yard and attacked Kayla Greene.
“The cursory investigation revealed that the dog had been in the custody of Mr. Haskett for some time. It is up to opinion on how long he’s had the dog. He gave differing accounts of how long he’s had the dog,” Carroll said Tuesday.
Carroll said police are not currently requesting charges against Haskett for animal cruelty but said they are contemplating charging him with harboring an unimmunized animal, a Class B misdemeanor.
Determining the viciousness of the dog will be important to the investigation, Carroll said. “It’s not as if he grabbed Fifi the poodle with a bow on her head and wrapped her around the tree. We’re talking about a vicious animal.”
It will be up to Madison County Prosecutor Tom Broderick to decide if cruelty charges should be pursued, Carroll said. “There’s an opportunity for additional charges to be levied versus Mr. Haskett.”
Kayla Greene said she felt that the dog was under control after it was removed from her and did not feel that it needed to be killed in order to protect others at the scene.
She would have preferred that the animal be humanely euthanized by animal control officials.
The Greene family also believes the breed of the dog had little to do with the attack. They said they have owned pit bulls before and don’t believe the breed is naturally more aggressive or vicious.
Though she is still recovering from scars on her back, arms and abdomen, Kayla Greene said she does not blame the dog, but the owner.
“It was raised mean,” she said.
Haskett said he only did what was necessary. “As far as animal cruelty, it wasn’t fun and games for me.”
Contact Brandi Watters: 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
