An 8-year-old township resident underwent emergency surgery on Sunday, April 27 after he was attacked by two pit bulls. Abaidullah Sikander, of Manhattan Avenue, suffered multiple bites to his head, right arm and knee after the dogs ran into his backyard where he was playing with other children and attacked him.
The other children managed to flee to safety, said Abdul Sikander, the victim’s father. Six children ran into his house and one hid in the bushes near Nida-ul Islam Mosque.
Sikander, who is an Imam of the mosque, said that at first he did not realize his son was still outside.
"The children kept saying ‘dog, dog, dog,’ and I thought they were talking about a small dog that I see near the mosque," Sikander said.
But when he opened his back door, he saw his son lying on the ground between two large, white pit bulls that were mauling him.
"I ran out to save him. God gave me strength," said Sikander, who threw a bicycle at the dogs and kicked them. Sikander injured his leg while rescuing his son, but was not bitten.
The boy, however, suffered three bites to his head and bites to his right arm that were so severe that they fractured the bone.
Police responded to a 911 call and Abaidullah was transported by Teaneck Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Hackensack University Medical Center.
His wounds were so contaminated from the bites that doctors treated him with antibiotics for two days before operating on his arm on April 29, Sikander said.
Abaidullah will return for a second surgery in six weeks to remove rods inserted in his arm. He was discharged from HUMC on May 1.
Sikander said the dogs appeared to have entered his property from a township owned wooded lot adjacent to his yard. He said he had not seen the dogs previously and did not know who owned them.
Before turning on Abaidullah, the dogs pursued the children who escaped into the house, running up the steps and barking at the front door. Scratch marks from the dogs were still visible on the door.
After responding to the call, Teaneck Police searched the area, which borders Englewood, and observed two loose white pit bulls. Samson Onumonu, of Amsterdam Avenue, told police that the dogs belong to his uncle, Wilbert McKnight, of Washington Avenue in Englewood. According to a Teaneck Police report, McKnight acknowledged that the dogs were his. He said that he might have left the gate to his yard unlocked and the dogs escaped.
McKnight was unable to provide licenses for the dog or dates of their last rabies shot.
The dogs were quarantined at the Bergen County Animal Shelter at Teterboro.
Englewood Health officer, Nelson Xavier Cruz, confirmed that the dogs were unlicensed and that the city has no record that they were vaccinated against rabies.
"(McKnight) alleges that one dog was vaccinated, but we have no documentation. I have to assume they were unvaccinated," Cruz said.
Bergen County spokesperson Mabel Aragon said that McKnight relinquished his rights to the dogs on May 7. The dogs were determined to be aggressive and were put down on May 8.
Teaneck Police Lt. Keith Richter said that in January a Selvage Avenue resident reported two pit bulls in her driveway at 6:15 a.m. The dogs were traced to McKnight, who was given a warning. Richter estimated that the dogs had traveled almost a mile from McKnight’s home to reach the Selvage Avenue.
Jerry Drasheff, of the TVAC, said that the scene was under control by the time he arrived.
"The child was calm and did not appear to be upset, but he complained of a lot of pain in his arm, especially when we cleaned the wounds," Drasheff said.
The bites to the head appeared to be superficial, he said. The most serious injury was to the right arm, where the force of a dog’s jaw apparently fractured the bone.
Interviewed at his home on May 7, Abaidullah had a small scratch on his forehead. His left arm was still bruised and his right was in a sling.
The psychological wounds will take longer to heal.
"All the children have nightmares," Abdul Sikander said. "Any sound that comes in the night they think is a dog."
He said that he will seek mental health counseling for his son, who has been afraid to go outside since the attack.
Abdul Sikander said that dog owners let their animals run loose in the area, which is a remote, partially wooded section of the township.
McKnight was issued two summonses by Teaneck Police for allowing dogs to run loose. The case will be heard in municipal court on May 14.
McKnight could not be reached for comment.
