DaytonDailyNews.com

MIDDLETOWN — The owner of the pit bull terrier that mauled a 2-year-old girl was a no-show Wednesday at Middletown Municipal Court.

Lamar Powers, 26, was cited under the state's vicious dog laws for improper confinement and failure to show proof of insurance after Asia, his 10-year-old pit bull, broke free of her chain Friday evening and tore a pig tail and part of the scalp off the toddler.

A neighbor, Horace Fuller, rescued the 2-year-old after hearing her screaming by striking the dog with a bag of dogfood on the porch and then choked it until it released the toddler.

Judge Mark Wall issued a warrant for Powers' arrest after he failed to appear.

Despite the attack, city officials and animal activists say reinstating the city's ban on the breed would be a bad idea.

Middletown banned keeping pit bulls inside the city from April 2005 until this April.

Since then, the has had only two reports of pit bull bites, said Animal Control Officer Liz Lucas.

"We have a lot of dog bites but it's not really breed-specific," she said.

Vice Mayor Tony Marconi said the ban was difficult to enforce.

"When we had a breed-specific ban don't think for a minute we didn't have pit bulls in this city," he said. "Owners need to be responsible for their pets."

Middletown Health Department statistics bear him out. About 5 percent of dog bite incidents are attributed to pit bulls and that rate didn't go down during the ban.

Lucas said the city's ban on tethering dogs and stiffer penalties for negligent pet owners are more fair than a blanket ban on one breed. Under the new penalties passed in April, the second time a dog gets loose is punishable by a $500 fine and 60 days in jail, Lucas said.

"Any big dog can inflict a bad bite," she said. "I really think what we've got right now is pretty good."

Leland Gordon, executive director of the Animal Friends Humane Society in Trenton, said several responsible pit bull owners were forced to bring their dogs to his shelter when Middletown passed its ban.

"Breed bans are wrong," Gordon said. "You need to hold the owner responsible."

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2511 or dwells@coxohio.com.