A 50-year-old Tyrone man was injured in a dog attack early Sunday morning on Park Avenue and the dog’s owner could face charges according to the director of the state’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.
Timothy Yingling suffered lacerations to the neck and other injuries, according to a release from Tyrone Borough Police.
The investigating officer, Jessica Barlick, went to 602 Park Avenue and was met by Yingling outside the house. Yingling was bleeding from his face and arms. Medical personnel arrived on the scene and Yingling went with them for treatment at Tyrone Hospital.
Officer Barlick then met with Yingling’s girlfriend inside the house. The woman, Penny Oestreich, is the owner of the dog, a two-year-old St. Bernard named Boo Boo Bear.
Oestreich told Barlick the dog was locked inside the basement of the home. She said she wanted to go to bed and Yingling wanted her to stay up and he grabbed her. It was then that the dog attacked him.
The woman was questioned as to whether the dog had a past history of “mean” behavior. Oestreich said the dog was involved in an incident when it was younger when children in a different town had thrown rocks at the animal. Oestreich explained that is why the dog is “mean.”
Oestreich told Barlick she was going to take the dog and leave the residence for the night.
Barlick then contacted Tyrone Hospital. Yingling had suffered 11 bites on his arm, nine on his chest and had four deep lacerations on his face. He received stitches for his face injuries.
Yingling explained to the investigating officer he had told Oestreich she should go to bed because she had to work in the morning. Yingling claimed the woman had said she wanted to stay downstairs. The Tyrone Police summary said Yingling grabbed Oestreich by the wrist and it was then he was attacked.
Officer Barlick spoke with Tyrone Hospital officials on Jan. 31 and learned Oestreich had told a nurse through a telephone conversation that Yingling was beating her and that’s why the dog had attacked him.
Barlick said in her report that Oestreich never mentioned “the beating” when she was interviewed. Barlick said Oestreich showed no visible signs of injury.
Yingling told police the dog had bitten several people prior to Sunday’s incident. A Tyrone Hospital official confirmed Yingling had been treated in the emergency room and was released.
In a Monday press release, Tyrone Police said the dog was scheduled to be picked up by the Humane Society.
The Society’s animal control officer who handled the Tyrone incident said it was referred to the area’s state dog warden, Robert Beck.
The state’s Department of Agriculture’s press office referred inquires to the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.
The Bureau’s director Mary Bender said the dog had been quarantined and charges against the dog’s owner are pending. The quarantine is used to determine if the dog has rabies. Bender said the dog is quarantined for 10 days to make the rabies determination.
She said the case could be prosecuted under the “dangerous dog” provision of the state dog law depending of whether or not it met certain criteria under the law.
The criteria includes whether or not the dog has a license, whether or not it has received rabies shots as required and a determination of whether or not the dog has rabies. Other criteria includes looking at if the dog was allowed to run at large, if it inflicted a severe injury on a human or killed another domestic animal.
Bender said a dog owner can be cited for harboring a dangerous dog.
Bender said the criteria would be use to determine if Beck would file charges and the same criteria would be used by a magisterial district judge to determine guilt or innocence if charges were filed.
Ingrid Healy, director of operations of the Central Pennsylvania Humane Society, said in some cases dogs involved in attacks eventually have to be put to sleep. Such an outcome usually occurs as a result of a court decision.
