ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The owner of the dog that bit a child this week has contacted ClarksvilleNow.com to explain her version of events and address comments made by others in the community.
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Krystal Nunnelee lives at the home on Holly Rock Dr. where the biting incident occurred. She said her American bulldog, Gage, was responsible.
According to Nunnelee, Gage and another one of her dogs were outside in the backyard with the girl who was bitten and another girl, both of whom live at the home. They were playing with a litter of puppies.
“My roommate (Jennifer) told me she (the child) was out there playing with the puppies. Gage thought he was protecting the puppies and she thought she was protecting the puppies, so she went and started hitting him on the head to try and keep him away from the puppies, and that’s when he bit her on her shoulder,” Nunnelee said.
She said her vet and an ER doctor told her had the bite been vicious, the girl’s injuries would have been far worse.
Animal Control Director Jeanette Farrell conformed that an Animal Control officer visited the home Wednesday afternoon. The officer conducted a welfare check on all the dogs living at the house.
She confirmed that two dogs (Gage and another dog that was outside at the time of the incident) have been placed under quarantine. All four adult dogs that live at the house were taken to the vet for checkups, and all six puppies will be going to their new homes this weekend, according to Farrell.
Nunnelee said the four adult dogs are labeled as a lab, Staffordshire terrier, American bulldog, and German shepherd.
Many commenters on social media have expressed displeasure with Nunnelee’s dogs, but she said no one has actually confronted her in person about any issues.
“I have not heard about any of the complaints. Animal Control has been out to my house before because when we first moved in we had holes in our fences and our dogs were getting out of the fence,” Nunnelee said. “They can gladly come to my house and talk to me about it and see that my dogs are not vicious. But like any dog, if somebody walks up to a fence, they’re going to bark and let somebody know that they’re there.”
She also emphasized that the children were not unsupervised at the time, saying that one of her roommates was in the backyard with them.
The mother of the child who was bitten also spoke to ClarksvilleNow.com to dispel rumors she had seen on social media.