Many times when we report stories, we learn interesting details that don't end up in an article, either because there's no space for them or because they just don't fit.
This was the case with the story of the tragic pit bull attack in Simi Valley last week that killed 5-year-old Katya Teresa Todesco.
After I first learned the girl's name on Monday, I found a number for the family and called. (Cold calling grieving families is never something I like to do, but it's a part of the job. I simply do my best to be as respectful as I possible can.)
The first number I found for a Todesco family turned out to be the right one.
I spoke to Katya's family and, understandably, they weren't ready to talk to a reporter. They said they might be willing to share photos with us, and I left them my e-mail address and phone number in case they changed their minds.
Later that day, Katya's mother, Katia, called me to express concerns that the short story we had on the web was wrong. I explained that the descriptions of the tragic incident I had came from the police, and she agreed to speak with me to set the record straight.
I was only able to include part of what Katia Todesco told me in the article, so I wanted to tell some of the back story here.
Mrs. Todesco said she called because our first web story reported that police said it happened at her home, and she said that was not accurate. She said her family doesn't even own dogs, and that they were at a friend's house when the tragedy occurred. (We were not able to clear up the discrepancy Monday afternoon, so we had to report both her version and the police's version.)
I mentioned in the article that Todesco praised the doctors at Simi Valley hospital who, with the help of a blood transfusion, were able to revive her daughter. The girl lived for two more days at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
But we didn't have space to include the family's request that anyone who wants to help them donate blood in Katya's memory.
We mentioned that the Todesco family donated Katya's organs, but didn't have space to include the fact that her mother told me an organ donor flag given to her by the hospital was flying proudly outside their home as we spoke.
Yet another powerful detail that didn't make it into the story: Todesco works in a medical center, she told me, and some of her daughter's organs went to that same medical center.
This was the case with the story of the tragic pit bull attack in Simi Valley last week that killed 5-year-old Katya Teresa Todesco.
After I first learned the girl's name on Monday, I found a number for the family and called. (Cold calling grieving families is never something I like to do, but it's a part of the job. I simply do my best to be as respectful as I possible can.)
The first number I found for a Todesco family turned out to be the right one.
I spoke to Katya's family and, understandably, they weren't ready to talk to a reporter. They said they might be willing to share photos with us, and I left them my e-mail address and phone number in case they changed their minds.
Later that day, Katya's mother, Katia, called me to express concerns that the short story we had on the web was wrong. I explained that the descriptions of the tragic incident I had came from the police, and she agreed to speak with me to set the record straight.
I was only able to include part of what Katia Todesco told me in the article, so I wanted to tell some of the back story here.
Mrs. Todesco said she called because our first web story reported that police said it happened at her home, and she said that was not accurate. She said her family doesn't even own dogs, and that they were at a friend's house when the tragedy occurred. (We were not able to clear up the discrepancy Monday afternoon, so we had to report both her version and the police's version.)
I mentioned in the article that Todesco praised the doctors at Simi Valley hospital who, with the help of a blood transfusion, were able to revive her daughter. The girl lived for two more days at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
But we didn't have space to include the family's request that anyone who wants to help them donate blood in Katya's memory.
We mentioned that the Todesco family donated Katya's organs, but didn't have space to include the fact that her mother told me an organ donor flag given to her by the hospital was flying proudly outside their home as we spoke.
Yet another powerful detail that didn't make it into the story: Todesco works in a medical center, she told me, and some of her daughter's organs went to that same medical center.
