Pit bull bites owner in Buckeye Lake

BUCKEYE LAKE – A Buckeye Lake man was treated at Licking Memorial Hospital after his dog bit him early Monday.

A Licking County Sheriff's Office deputy responded to a home on the first block of Myers Avenue in Buckeye Lake at 1:36 a.m. Monday.

Steven Heptinstall, the dog's owner, told the deputy that his two dogs began fighting with one another, and when he separated them, his pit bull bit him on his left wrist and hand.

The dog would not release his bite at first, Heptinstall said, but he was eventually able to free his hand and place the dog in its cage.

Heptinstall's girlfriend told police that, lately, the pit bull had been showing aggression toward the couple's other dog, a beagle-pit bull mix, and the dogs began fighting several days ago. She corroborated Heptinstall's account, saying the pit bull turned on him and bit him after Heptinstall tried to separate it from their other dog.

The county dog warden advised the dog would need to be quarantined for 10 days and noted it would be up to Heptinstall to either keep or get rid of the dog.