Birthday information wasn't able to be converted. If you want it public, update it here
Rush of blood and a little bit of pain
Thursday July 8, 2010 | Use Full Website<< Pocono Record Mobile HomePit bull accused of biting Vanessa Carlton wins reprieveBy HOWARD FRANKPocono Record WriterJuly 08, 2010 - 12:00 AMIf the teeth don't fit, you must acquit.That theme must have resonated Wednesday with a Shohola district judge, who ruled that a pit bull pup named Bella, accused of biting pop singer Vanessa Carlton, could move back with her owners provided they build a fence around their property.Key to the animal's reprieve was testimony from a Saylorsburg vet, who said the bite wound on Carlton's leg didn't match a mold she took of Bella's teeth shortly after the incident.It was a victory for the Teichberg family, who had Bella since she was 6 weeks old."I'm elated," Ben Teichberg said. "It's like you get news your child you haven't seen in umpteen years comes home."Carlton was jogging past the Teichberg's Shohola home May 2 when she was bit by a dog she later identified as Bella. The pit bull was 9 months old at the time of the attack.Carlton had just returned from England, and was visiting her parents' home nearby to visit her own dog. She was bit on the right calf, leaving her bloody and terrified, according to testimony presented in a summary trial at the Milford courthouse Wednesday.Ben Teichberg was charged with three counts of dog law violations: failure to confine an animal, breaking a quarantine issued by the dog warden and harboring a dangerous dog. The final charge amounted to a capital offense, since the Teichberg's couldn't afford the insurance, registration and other costs required by the state when a dog is labeled dangerous.The six-hour trial featured family members, a dog warden and witnesses with backgrounds in dog behavior and canine dentistry.Carlton, composed and still, testified for an hour. She told of how she was jogging around Walker Lake, about 11 miles northwest of Milford, around noon, when she saw a barking dog charging her from about 50 to 75 feet away."I turned and tried to be submissive, and turned into the woods, backing up so it wouldn't be so angry," she said.Carlton said as she was turning the dog bit her leg.The prosecution showed enlarged photo of Carlton's wound, a gruesome set of skin punctures surrounded by bruised, discolored skin.But Dr. Karin-Susan Breitlauch of Creature Comfort Veterinary Care in Saylorsburg testified that the dog that bit Carlton couldn't have been Bella.Breitlauch, who was named Pennsylvania's Veterinarian of the Year in 2009, made a plaster mold from an impression she took of Bella's upper and lower teeth in May. Breitlauch compared the mold to the photos of Carlton's wound."These teeth cannot make that wound," she said.Prosecutor David McKenzie tried to discredit Breitlauch's expertise in forensics. The vet pointed out her extensive background in canine orthodontics.The prosecution also called a reluctant Gerald Boyd. The skinny, 16-year-old 10th-grader was visiting his girlfriend, Alexis Teichberg, on May 11. He said Bella bit him on the leg while Alexis' sisters were playing with the dog."They got (her) all wired up," he said. "She just bit for a second."Bella was placed under a 10-day quarantine after the May 2 incident involving Carlton to make sure the dog wasn't sick with rabies.Ben Teichberg, who didn't want to subject Bella to a life of restrictive confinement and couldn't afford to fight the charges, scheduled Bella to be euthanized May 14.Instead, Teichberg signed over ownership of the dog to Maria McKenna on May 13. McKenna is a trainer and evaluator with Save the Orphaned Dogs, a nonprofit rescue and adoption organization in Pocono Pines.That resulted in the charge against Teichberg of breaking quarantine.McKenna, who has had Bella in her home for the past two months, testified she evaluated Bella and found her to be playful and even a little timid. "She's never shown any signs of aggression," she said.District Justice Alan Cooper found Teichberg guilty of failure to confine his dog and assessed a $100 fine. He also found Bella's owner guilty of breaking quarantine, although the judge said it was probably unintended and reduced the fine from a maximum of $500 to $50.On the charge of harboring a dangerous dog, Cooper played Solomon. He told Teichberg he could return Bella to the family home if they built a fence around their property within 90 days.Carlton declined to comment and left the courtroom with her family through a back door, escorted by a sheriff's deputy.Pocono Record - Mobile HomeCopyright © 2010Pocono Mountains Media Group - (570) 421-3000 - 511 Lenox St., Stroudsburg, PA 18360. All Rights Reserved.
