Neighbors witness dog attack, claim owner refused to help

A 10-year-old Tulsa boy spent his Thanksgiving weekend in the hospital after being attacked by a dog. Police say the dog's owner refused to help the boy, because he's a musician, and didn't

Tuesday, November 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

A 10-year-old Tulsa boy spent his Thanksgiving weekend in the hospital after being attacked by a dog. Police say the dog's owner refused to help the boy, because he's a musician, and didn't want to injure his hands. The owner says that's not the way it happened.

Michael McConnell had two surgeries, and a skin graft over the weekend to repair his torn leg. Doctors say it could be six months before he walks again. "I lifted his pantleg up and saw it,â€ said Pam McConnell, Mother. â€œIt was like hamburger meat, it didn't look like a leg."

The young McConnell says he and a friend were playing together Wednesday afternoon. He admits they were singing the song, â€˜who let the dogs outâ€™ and were barking, which made the dog bark back. The dog is an Akita named Chief, owned by Tom and Bev Hanford. The dog was in a fenced backyard. McConnell says when he went into the Hanford's front yard to retrieve his soccer ball, the dog was there, and attacked him.

Neighbor Erika Ross got to Michael first. "The dog had the boy's right leg and was chewing on it,â€ she said. â€œIt was just up in the air and he was chewing. There was blood all over the dog."

What has people most upset than the attack itself is what they say was Hanford's attitude during the attack.
Neighbors say he didn't help. "All he was doing, he didn't try to get the dog off of him,â€ said neighbor Jesus Murillo. â€œHe was just yelling at the dog." "He never came back out to help,â€ Ross said. â€œHe was gone inside the whole time."

Police say Hanford told them he couldn't help, because he was a musician and didn't want to hurt his hands.
Hearing that statement makes Michael's mother furious. "The man just watched and refused to help,â€ said McConnell. â€œMichael begged him for help and he wouldn't do it."

Hanford didn't go on camera with The News on Six, but spoke with crime reporter Lori Fullbright on the phone. He said he was worried about the boy, not his hands. Hanford said he was afraid if he pulled on the dog, it would hurt the boy more. He says he went back inside to get a pair of gloves, so he could pry the dog's teeth off the boy.

The Hanfords say they've repeatedly warned children in the neighborhood, not to provoke their dog. Yet they've found rocks, sticks and bottles inside their fence. They say the boys got Chief so excited last Wednesday that he broke his chain, and jumped the fence.

McConnellâ€™s mother says all she can think about is her child screaming, begging for help, and not receiving it. Police gave a ticket to the Hanfords for having a dog at large. Chief was taken to the animal shelter for a ten-day observation. Shelter authorities will investigate to see if the dog should be deemed vicious, and destroyed.