[5/6/03]The mother of a 5-year-old child bitten by a dog at a baseball game more than a week ago made a plea Monday for the Warren County Board of Supervisors to pass a dog-control law.

Kaitlyn Hunt, daughter of Kelly Hunt, was bitten on the face by an Australian shepherd at the Culkin baseball fields.

Several other dogs were at the field, but the shepherd bit Kaitlyn on the face when she reached out to pet it. Two other people were also bitten.

Later, the dog was stolen from the Vicksburg Warren Humane Society Shelter on U.S. 61 South when someone cut the fencing of the pen in which the dog was housed.

Supervisors have been contemplating whether and how to enact a countywide animal control ordinance for several years.

“I will do anything in my power to help this (ordinance) pass,” Kelly Hunt said in her plea to the board.

She told the board the dog that bit her daughter was well known in the neighborhood around the Culkin ball fields as a biter and a dog that chased other children. She also said she had learned the dog had had only one rabies vaccination in eight years.

Since the dog has not been tested, Kaitlyn had to begin a series of rabies vaccinations Sunday in case the dog had the disease.

“What’s worse is the nightmares,” Kelly Hunt said Kaitlyn has been suffering. The dog was still missing as of Monday afternoon.

District 5 Supervisor Richard George, board president, said the last action taken by the board was some minor revisions that have to be approved by board attorney Randy Sherard and District Attorney Gil Martin. Since the grand jury is meeting this week, Martin probably won’t have time until next week to make his review. After that, the board wants to publish the ordinance in preparation for a public hearing to gather public input.

“Probably by our next meeting (May 19) we should be able to set a timetable for the publication and hearing,” George said.

Earlier this year, supervisors entered their first-ever comprehensive contract regarding strays. The local humane society is being paid $125,000 per year to respond to calls and house animals picked up from county locations.