I am Alex Newton, and I am the child who was attacked by a guard dog last Sunday, August 23, 1998 while delivering the Ann Arbor News. I was substituting a paper route for a neighbor and therefore was unfamiliar with the area. I delivered the paper at 3533 Frederick. I went up to the screen door, I saw the dog about 10-15 feet away from the door, because the inside door was wide open. It was sleeping with its head facing in the opposite direction. I slipped the paper inside the screen door, shut the door, noticed that it did not shut completely and shut it again. The dog got up from the sound of the paper dropping and I started to walk away, since it was barking and walking towards the door. I kept walking away and looking behind me to make sure the dog didn’t do anything. The dog started to jump up on the door as if it was trying to get to me. So I started to run, and he pushed the door open, ran after me, knocked me down to the ground in front of their house and began biting me many times on my bottom. I began screaming and yelling for help. Me Dad soon came to help me. He grabbed the dog, choked it and threw it to the ground. My Dad then helped me hobble away to his car after the owner appeared and my Dad said that he must take me to the hospital. 
 

On Sunday, August 23, 1998, I was helping my son, Alex, deliver the Ann Arbor News for the Redding Family on Bardstown Trail, who have a route of about 60 papers on Frederick and Middleton. At the corner of Frederick and Green, my son was brutally attacked by a chow dog owned by the Hiroshi Family at 3533 Frederick at about 7:45 AM. The circumstances surrounding the attack I did not eyewitness; however, if I had not been in the immediate vicinity, I know my son would have been much more severly injured than he was.
After he disappeared around the corner of their garage to deliver the paper to the front door, I waited for him to return so that we could go back for more papers. However, I heard screaming and "“help me!!!” I immediately ran around the corner of the garage and saw newspaper scattered all over the front sidewalk and their dog repeatedly biting and tearing at my son left buttocks. I grabbed the dog’s neck as hard as I could, trying to choke him so that he would not continue biting Alex. After yelling at him and squeezing his neck with all my strength, the dog finally let go and I threw him as hard as I could on the cement sidewalk to stun him and prevent him from attacking again. At that time, I checked the damage to Alex and was stunned by the wounds the dog had inflicted on his left arm, his left leg and his left buttocks. I immediately thought that I must get him to the hospital. Mrs. Hiroshi, the owner of the dog, then appeared quite shaken by the incident. (I don’t know what happened to the dog, but I assumed she let him inside the house.) I told her that I must take my son to the emergency room and that I would speak to her later about her dog. I quickly laid my son in the back seat of my car and drove home to tell my wife, Coco, what had happened and that I was going to the hospital. I also showed her the wounds before leaving for the hospital, so that she would be aware of the extent of his injuries. One of the neighbors, Dr. David Markel came over to look at Alex before leaving for the hospital.
Mrs. Hiroshi later appeared after about a half hour at the St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital Emergency Room. I told her that her dog was a menace and needed to be destroyed. She told me she was sorry and that her dog had only bitten one other person when they had put their hand in the window of her car to pet the dog. She also said that she should have fixed the latch on her screen door so that the dog would be secure inside the house. Lastly, she said that she bought the dog as a guard dog since her house had been burglarized. I then lead her to the room where my son, Alex, lay on the bed with gauze pads soaked in betadine covering his wounds on his buttocks. I showed the extent of the wounds and she said, “Oh my God!” and then left the Emergency Room. We have heard nothing from her since Sunday and today is Thursday 27, 1998.
I truly believe that if I had not been nearby to help Alex that the dog would have continued biting him, inflicting further wounds on his body. The animal was out of control and the owner was clearly negligent in not having the dog secured within her house. I believe that the dog will attack again and should be destroyed as a safety precaution to other members of the neighborhood.

(Signed) Roger S. Newton 

8/27/98
 

On Sunday morning, August 23, 1998, Alex Newton (13 yrs) was a substitute paperboy, delivering the Ann Arbor News with his father, Roger Newton. Although he had previously had his own paper route, it was his first time on this route. He was seriously mauled by a chow dog owned by the Ikuma family at 3533 Frederick. The front door was already open and the screen door was pushed open by the dog after Alex had delivered the newspaper. The dog knocked Alex to the ground and bit him numerous times. 

Roger was at the driveway, heard Alex screaming from the front of the house, ran to help him, and managed to choke the dog in order to break his grip on Alex before throwing the dog to the ground. Alex was taken to the emergency room at the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for multiple wounds on his left arm, leg and buttocks. He is recovering from the incident but it was postulated that the outcome would have been crippling or fatal had Roger not intervened so quickly. 

It is a sad commentary that the Ikuma family has not communicated with us to offer a further apology or inquire on Alex’s condition since the day of the incident. Mrs. Ikuma did come to the emergency room where she was shown the extent of Alex’s injuries shortly after it happened. Alex spent five hours in the emergency room with his father and/or his mother, Coco, receiving medical treatment before being released.

This notice is being circulated throughout the neighborhood to make you aware of the incident and the real danger this animal poses to all of you. We are aware that this same dog has been involved in other incidents in which it has shwown violent behavior. If you agree with the seriousness of this situation, please write a letter to the Ann Arbor City Attorney to urge that action be taken immediately to euthanize the dog.
Others have come forth supporting this initiative, including the attending emergency room physician, who is also a resident of our neighborhood. 

Please address your letter as follows: 

Office of the City Attorney 
Attention: Bob West
P.O. Box 8647
Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8647

Coco and Roger Newton (662-7531), 1425 Bardstown Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105