Pit bull mauls Melbourne wildlife trapper's arm
Rick Neale, FLORIDA TODAY Published 3:25 p.m. ET Jan. 11, 2017
James Dean was bitten by a loose pit bull while breaking up a dogfight at the Woodlake Village Apartments in Palm Bay.
For years, Melbourne licensed wildlife trapper James Dean has successfully stalked and captured hogs, raccoons, iguanas, bobcats and even a bull shark in neighborhoods and wooded areas across the Space Coast.
But on New Year's Eve, an unleashed pit bull mauled Dean's arm at the Woodlake Village Apartments in Palm Bay. He underwent surgery at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, and he continues to heal from his wounds.
According to Brevard County Animal Services and Enforcement, Dean and his girlfriend were sitting outside with one of her neighbors at the apartment complex, just northwest of the intersection of Palm Bay Road and Lipscomb Street. The neighbor was accompanied by her leashed PTSD service dog, Taz.
Shortly after 8 p.m., a white-and-tan pit bull mix named Bruce charged and attacked Taz. Dean jumped on Bruce, pulled him off the service dog, and secured the pit bull inside an animal trap in the back of his truck ? but he suffered bites to his left arm and right hand.
"There was actually a chunk taken out of his arm. He had to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics, and he currently has a big stitch up his arm. It's wrapped in bandage, has to be put in a sling," Michael Peacock, an attorney at the Melbourne office of Morgan & Morgan, said Wednesday morning.
The pit bull owner is Tracy Burke, who lives in the Woodlake Village Apartments. She "frequently lets her dog run around unleashed because he is friendly and plays with other dogs," a Palm Bay police narrative states.
After police arrived at the scene on New Year's Eve, they learned that Burke had an arrest warrant from the Melbourne Police Department for dealing in stolen property and false verification of ownership.
Wildlife trapper James Dean underwent surgery after a pit bull mauled his left arm. (Photo: Brevard County Sheriff's Office)
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Burke ? who suffered lacerations on her hands during the dogfight ? was arrested and transported to Palm Bay Hospital. Afterwards, deputies transported her to the Brevard County Jail Complex.
Burke pleaded not guilty to her charges on New Year's Day, and her next court hearing is Feb. 7. Animal control officers impounded and quarantined Bruce while Burke was in jail.
Dean declined comment for this story, per Peacock's advice.
"We're still trying to determine what the dog owner knew, how much the apartment complex knew, whether the dog was permitted to be there. So right now, there's an investigation into that," Peacock said.
In June 2014, Dean spent days trying to capture "Sushi," a juvenile bull shark that drew national media attention by mysteriously appearing in the Gleason Park pond in Indian Harbour Beach. Hundreds of spectators and a television news helicopter watched Dean, fellow wildlife trapper Leo Cross, and a crew of volunteers attempt to catch the shark using nets, a rowboat, chum, hand-thrown explosives and fishing poles.
A Melbourne Beach fisherman eventually netted Sushi from the Gleason Park pier. Dean used pliers to remove a fishing hook from the shark's mouth, then released the creature into the Indian River Lagoon.
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