Dog accused of chewing off part of woman's ear

In Pontiac, deputies got a call that a 47-year-old woman was overdosing on drugs.  When they got there, they found that part of her ear had been chewed off, possibly by a dog.

She is being treated at the hospital for that overdose and is listed in stable condition.  Doctors are still trying to figure out what she took that caused her to pass out.  Meanwhile, the dog's owner is speaking out saying her dog did nothing wrong.

"He only has one eye on the right side.  He don't have a left eye, so they didn't want the dog.  They were just going to throw him out to the streets, and I said, 'No.  I'll take the dog,'" said Barbara Sparks.

She rescued Polo in May.  Her house feels empty without the pitter patter of paws.  His food bowl sits empty, a constant reminder he isn't there.  Instead, the Shih Tzu is being held in quarantine at the Oakland County Animal Shelter following a bizarre incident at Sparks' apartment.

"He didn't chew on her ear.  He didn't nibble on her ear.  He got food here or he'll play with me.  He didn't nibble on her ear," Sparks said.

This past Saturday, Sparks said her neighbor, Marietta Mitchell, came to her apartment.  She was high and passed out.  When Mitchell's father couldn't get her up, she let her stay.

"She went to sleep, so I said, 'Mr. Mitchell, what you do is let her sleep it off' because I didn't know what she was high on because I don't get high," said Sparks.

She claims she was home the entire time her neighbor was passed out.  Most of the time Polo was with her, but she said her dog licked her neighbor, but he didn't gnaw on her.

"He kept licking on her to try to see if she'll wake up.  She did not wake up," Sparks said.

Mitchell's family got worried when she wouldn't wake up and they noticed the injury on her ear.  She was transported to St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, but Sparks claims the injury wasn't caused by her pooch.  It was already there.

Even neighbors are coming to the little dog's defense.

"She had a slit where I'm saying she can't wear post earrings.  She's got to wear clip on earrings because her ears are split," said Sparks.

"Polo is not a dog that attack people, and all the kids play with the dog," said Jalaiah Hughley.

"He really is like a nice dog," said Shawntell Evans.

We did reach out to the Mitchell family Monday evening to try to get their take, but they say no doubt this dog did take off a part of their daughter's ear.  They declined to go on camera.  Meanwhile, they are just concentrating on her getting better and surviving that overdose.

Polo will be quarantined for ten days.  As long as he does not have rabies, he will be allowed to go back to his owner.  She will have to pay several hundred dollars in fees to get the dog out.