Pit bull leaps out of truck, bites motorcyclist for 2nd time this month

Taipei, March 17 (CNA) Taipei police and animal welfare authorities are investigating an incident in which a pit bull leaped out of the window of its owner's truck and bit a motorcyclist Monday, 11 days after doing the same thing in another part of town.

According to police, the dog named "Lucky" was riding with its owner, a man surnamed Hsu (徐), on Wolong St., Lane 188 in Taipei's Daan District at around 8:40 a.m. when it jumped out of the rear passenger side window and bit a motorcyclist stopped at a red light.

The motorcyclist, who was not identified, suffered lacerations above his right knee before Hsu was able to pry the dog away from him. The man later went to have his injuries treated at a hospital.

Hsu, aged around 60, claimed that the dog had jumped out of the window of his pickup truck after rolling down the automatic window by itself, police sources said.

The attack came only 11 days after a nearly identical attack, in which Hsu's pit bull jumped out of the truck's window and bit a motorcyclist at a red light on Wanmei Street in Wenshan District.

Hua Hsin-huei (華心惠), an official at the Taipei City Animal Protection Office, said Monday that the agency was still waiting to take a statement from the victim of the first attack by Hsu's dog when the second one occurred.

Under the Animal Protection Act, Hsu could be cited for failing to properly restrain an aggressive pet in public, with a possible fine of NT$30,000 (US$909) to NT$90,000 for the first attack and NT$90,000 to NT$150,000 for the second, Hua said.

Animal protection officials will also meet with Hsu to see if he can propose steps to properly control the dog, and will seize and impound the animal if he is unable to do so, Hua said.

Asked about the agency's handling of the first attack, Hua said officials did not seize the dog at the time because Hsu promised to keep it leashed and muzzled outdoors.