A Buffalo jury awarded Kristia Gatti, a former Niagara University student, $147,570 in damages after her upper lip was severely mauled by a Rottweiler owned by a Lewiston police officer, court officials said Tuesday.
The jury before State Supreme Court Justice Diane Y. Devlin ordered Officer James Ullery’s insurance carrier to pay the damages.
Walter P. Seegert, attorney for Gatti, formerly of Grand Island and now living near Hilton Head, S. C., said she was bitten while trying to calm the 140-pound dog, Titan, for treatment at the Lewiston Animal Hospital, where she was a part-time kennel attendant on Sept. 2, 2004.
Gatti, 21 at the time, was rushed to Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, Lewiston. She has undergone surgery twice and is likely to need more, said Seegert.
Though Ullery told the jury Titan was a friendly dog, Seegert said he presented evidence that the dog was euthanized about four months after the attack on Gatti and that Ullery had ignored a veterinarian’s recommendation to have the dog neutered to check its aggressive tendencies.
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