Wants 2 of 4 Dogs Back : Man Admits His Pit Bull Bit Girl

The owner of two of four dogs impounded after an 8-year-old Antelope Valley girl was bitten said Saturday that he will hire an attorney if necessary to get back one of his dogs and the dog of a friend.

Jim Coates of Lake Los Angeles acknowledged that his pit bull Ozzie bit Annette Stinebiser, who received 25 stitches. As a result, he said, he has mixed emotions about whether Los Angeles County animal-control officers would be justified in destroying the animal.

The fate of the four dogs has not been determined, and the incident is still under investigation, authorities said Saturday.

Coates said the two dogs he wants back, a Doberman-Rottweiler mix and the friend’s mixed collie, did not participate in the attack.

The episode began, Coates said, when his girlfriend opened the front door to let in a friend, and the three dogs, which were inside the house, saw a stray pit bull in the front yard. They all bolted outside and Ozzie joined the stray pit bull in biting the girl, he said.

Coates’ roommate, Ken Cole, said he ran after the dogs and chased them inside, while the stray ran away. Coates said the dogs, which love children, are always kept inside his house, in his fenced yard or chained in his pickup truck, where they protect his toolbox.

“I feel really bad about it,” Coates said.

“But I also feel really bad about how we are treated,” he said. “They make it sound like we raise killer pit bulls.”

The attack occurred when Annette and other children were walking home after school Friday in the 16800 block of Mackennas Gold Avenue in Lake Los Angeles, about 10 miles east of Palmdale, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Annette was treated at a hospital and released Friday.