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Dog Attack Raises Questions About Safety At School Bus Stops

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 19, 2007

Updated: 09/19/2007 03:48 pm

TAMPA In the back of every parent's mind is the nagging worry that his or her child may become a victim of violence at a school bus stop. There are predators of every ilk out there — not to mention increased traffic — and students waiting on a grassy corner during the pre-dawn hours can be vulnerable.

This week, authorities said, a teenage girl was attacked by a bulldog, which then chased other teens near a bus stop in Riverview. A deputy ended up shooting the dog. The incident was the second in a month in which a dog attacked students. In August, on the second day of school, a 9-year-old girl walking to Robles Elementary was bitten by a pit bull mix. The dog was caught by animal control, and the girl is recovering.

Tuesday's incident renewed questions about whether students are safe at about 10,000 school bus stops across the county.

Yet the call for volunteers to watch over these loading and unloading zones has gone largely ignored.

The Stop Watch Program

Two years ago, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies kicked off a program using volunteers to supervise bus stops across the county. The idea was to protect students from sex offenders and would-be abductors. At the time, there was a rash of child-snatching attempts in the Tampa Bay area.

Local authorities are always looking for ways to protect children at bus stops, often without adult supervision. The Stop Watch program could have been the answer.

In June 2005, newly elected Sheriff David Gee proposed using volunteers to watch over bus stops twice a day. The call went out for volunteers. So far, the response has not been encouraging.

Deputy Robin Saulnier, who oversees the Stop Watch program, wants more parents involved.

"We're still kind of low," she said this morning. "I think I have just over 100 now, and most of them are crossing guards who are doing that after their crossing guard duties are done."

That's not to say bus stops are not being watched, she said. Most elementary school bus stops have parents standing nearby, she said. Even though they are not official Stop Watch volunteers, they're there. When she sees that, she stops to ask whether the parents want to join the program, she said.

"I would love for those people to be involved," she said.

But middle and high school bus stops often are left unsupervised, she said.

"When I drive by there in the morning," Saulnier said, "I don't see any people there. And that's an hour before it gets light."

If there had been a Stop Watch volunteer at the bus stop in Riverview, that person might have noticed a dog running loose and called animal control, averting any attack, she said.

"The situation could have been handled before the kids got off the bus," she said.

An application for Stop Watch participants is on the sheriff's Web site.

School district officials always encourage parents to accompany children either on their walks to school or to the bus stops, said district spokesman Steve Hegarty.

"We like adults to be nearby," he said, "to babysit the bus stops until the bus takes off."

Principals talk to parents and try to arrange shifts to make sure bus stops are watched over, he said.

Safety is always preached to children, he said.

"At most of our bus stops, several kids are there," he said. Parents sometimes stand by, but "not all parents have the luxury of doing that."

Hillsborough is not the only county where such attacks happen to children at bus stops.

Crystal Blage, a 17-year-old junior at River Ridge High School in Pasco County, was attacked by a neighbor's dog two weeks ago right after she got off the school bus on Laura Lee Drive in Spring Hill. The shepherd-pit mix bit her calf, and the injuries required treatment at the emergency room. The dog was captured and euthanized, said Blage's sister, Jammie Stafford.

"She had just gotten off the school bus and was walking home; she had just taken about 15 steps when the dog started running after her," Stafford said. Blage ignored the growling animal, and as she walked, the dog grabbed the back of her leg."

The next week, Blage returned to school and was walking to the bus stop when another neighbor's Rottweiler went after her, Stafford said. The teen swung her backpack at the dog and it lumbered off, she said. The bus driver witnessed that incident and called Stafford's home to report it, Stafford said.

Blage now has an apparent well-founded fear of canines, her sister said.

"We have her in counseling," Stafford said. "She's just scared of dogs now."

Bus Stop Safety Tips

Authorities have come up with some tips for staying safe at school bus stops or while walking to school:

• For parents, start a rotation from a neighborhood to walk children to and from the bus stop until they are picked up.

• For children, instead of playing, pay attention and be aware of your surroundings.

• Don't talk to strangers.

• Always walk with a buddy.

• Do not respond to requests for information or directions from people you do not know.

• Do not accept offers of help carrying books from people you do not know.

• Stay clear of dark, isolated places.

• If you have concerns about your safety or the safety of others, see your teacher or speak to a counselor, psychologist or social worker.

• Alert your parents, teachers and other adults of any observations or concerns you have.

And here are tips from Hillsborough Animal Control about how to avoid being bitten by a dog:

• Don't run. The dog probably will chase you.

• Put something between you and the dog — a bike, a chair, even a jacket.

• Don't stare into the dog's eyes. It will see that as a challenge.

• Don't make a lot of noise. This excites a dog.

• If you're knocked down, curl into a ball with your hands over your head and neck.

• Avoid unfamiliar dogs.

• Tell an adult if there is a stray in the neighborhood.

• Avoid getting too close to a restrained dog.

• Get an adult if you find a hurt dog.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7660 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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