ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — In light of the tragic death of eight-year-old Michael Millett in Volusia County, some people have mustered up the courage to talk about their own experiences.
Nancy Cerniglia can’t help but get emotional after reliving one of the darkest days of her life, Nov. 3, 2022.
She left her home for a walk with her Jack Russel Terrier mix, named Lucy, for the last time as they ran into two aggressive dogs, including one pit bull.
“We walked up … and she was on her leash totally in no way provoking them and they were maliciously barking,” said Cerniglia.
Cerniglia says she tried to walk towards the back of her home to avoid a conflict when her neighbor’s gate opened up and the dogs sprinted right at them.
“They got me, I went down and then they got her. And once they got her, they just massacred her,” Cerniglia said. “And it was terrible. I mean, I tried to lay on her.”
Lucy died from her injuries and Cerniglia was hospitalized from hers as she was left with deep scars and cuts on her hands.
“I thought I was going to die. I thought they were going to get me and that was going to be it,” she said.
For the last two years, Cerniglia has lived in silence after not being able to talk about the incident, but after she saw that eight-year-old Michael Millett was mauled in a similar fashion, she felt she needed to speak up
“When this happened my thought process was ‘oh my god what if this was my grandson,’” Cerniglia said. “And when this happened to Michael, I just said this was my worst nightmare.”
Cerniglia said her case was closed because Seminole County has a “one bite rule,” with her incident being the dogs’ first offenses.
So, now she wants to be an advocate for not only herself and Lucy, but for Michael as well.
“Are we going to change the laws? Are we going to realize that if you’re going to be a responsible pet owner and you want to own a pit bull, then you need to go to school and you need to put a muzzle on these dogs,” said Cerniglia.
Cerniglia says she’s making it her goal to ensure there are laws in place to help keep people safe from violent dogs and negligent dog owners.
She says she’s hoping to start lobbying with lawmakers in Tallahassee for local and state laws regarding dog safety and pit bull owners to be put in place.
The owner of the dogs involved in the death of Michael Millett has until Friday, Jan. 24 to appeal euthanasia or agree to sign the dogs over to be euthanized.
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