A 4-year-old boy suffered a serious lip injury after a family pitbull bit him, police said.

While responding to the dog bite, police and city officials discovered unsanitary living conditions at the 102 Ledge St. residence, police Lt. Jeffrey Bukunt said.

As a result, the boy and his two young siblings were removed from the home and placed in the care of relatives, Bukunt said.

A city code enforcement official ordered the house vacated because of the unsanitary conditions, Bukunt said.

The boy suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries when an adult pitbull, one of two dogs the family has owned for only about a week, bit him, Bukunt said.

The injury appeared to be isolated to the boy's upper lip, but is extensive, Bukunt said. He was initially treated at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, then transferred to Children's Hospital in Boston.

The bite was reported to police at around 9:45 a.m. The mother and her other two children were home, but the children's father was not, Bukunt said. The family has two pitbulls, the adult and a puppy, he said. The dogs are now in the custody of the Humane Society for Greater Nashua.

The Humane Society is conducting tests for rabies. Once the tests are complete, and if the dogs are deemed healthy, a Nashua Police animal control officer will determine whether the dogs should be returned to the owners, Bukunt said.

Bukunt declined to specify the conditions that prompted a city Health Department officer to deem the home unsanitary.

The unsanitary nature of the home was an issue separate from the Code Enforcement officer discovering that a basement apartment was being built at the 102 Ledge St. home without a permit, Bukunt said.

The boy and his family lived in the main section of the home while construction was underway downstairs, he said.

It's unclear who owns the residence, Bukunt said. He wasn't sure whether the parents are owners or tenants.

City assessment records list David and Veronica Clark, of Nashua, as the owners of the residence.

No criminal charges will be filed, but the owner and the occupants could be cited for code violations, Bukunt said.

The state Division for Children, Youth & Families handled the transfer of custody of the three children from the parents to relatives, Bukunt said.

This is at least the second discovery this month of an illegal basement apartment in a home after a police response.

Update 7/27/10:  The city had no choice but to evacuate a rental house after finding excrement on bedding, furniture and the floor, city health officer Heidi Peek said.

While the boy received medical treatment, his mother had a neighbor watch her two other young boys, Peek said. The children were dirty and dressed only in diapers, she said. The neighbor prepared something to eat for the boys, but was at a loss because he didn’t know their names, she said.

The state Division for Children, Youth & Families later handled the transfer of the two children to a relative. The city, meanwhile, prohibited anyone from living in the house until it is sanitary again.

Peek detailed what she saw when inspecting the residence:

It looked as if the children had been walking through dog waste and tracking it throughout the house for some time.

The stairs to the second floor had a film of dried dog feces. Animal excrement was found in all three rooms upstairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, a room to the right had dried dog feces on the floor, a large pile of dirty clothing extended out of the closet, blood – presumably from the boy’s torn lip – covered some sheets, and other stains were found on bedding and a dog crate.

A room to the left had smears of dog waste on bedding and on the bottom of a bureau drawer. A film of dog feces covered stairs to an upper bunk bed, and waste was smeared on a door jamb leading to the hallway. The smell of dog waste was intense.

In what appeared to be a playroom, fresh piles of dog feces and puddles of urine were on the floor. Again, the smell of dog waste “was overpowering.”

Dog feces was spread, at a child’s level of reach, across a window.

Another room used for storage also had dog waste.

Peek thought the living and dining rooms were the cleanest in the house. The kitchen wasn’t too unsanitary, but a hefty pile of trash was next to the refrigerator, she said.

The fridge was dirty, and contained some food, a partial 12-pack of beer and some soft drinks, Peek said. The freezer contained freeze pops and pizza.

The basement was cluttered, with one room covered with dirty laundry. Piles of dog feces were also found in the basement.

Aside from the unsanitary conditions, the city found that an apartment was under construction in the basement without proper approval.

The backyard had some feces and was littered with toys and other waste. An above-ground pool had green water.

The property at 102 Ledge St. was sold to Michael Lazzaro of Stoneham, MA on 3/29/10 and not owned by David and Veronica Clark, of Nashua as previously reported.

The boy, was released from the hospital on July 24th.

The mother, denied that the residence was unsanitary and said the dog bite was an accident. The pitbull loves the boy and his two younger brothers, she said.

The dog was probably trying to kiss her boy when its teeth caught his lip, she said. The boy was playing in the dog’s water bowl, police said.

Despite having more than a dozen stitches on his lip, the 4-year-old said he wants his dogs back.

Bukunt said it will probably be a few days before the police animal control officer determines if the dog will be put down or returned to the family.

The older pitbull was being observed for symptoms of rabies. The family has yet to provide paperwork documenting vaccinations, Peek said.

No criminal charges will be filed, but the owner and the occupants could be cited for code violations, Bukunt said.

Reference:

Nashua Telegraph