Dog Bites, Dog Left In Hot Car, and Dog Shot In the Face By a Neighbor

Dog attack victim calling for Madison Co. dangerous dog ordinance

By Trang Do - Bio | Email

HAZEL GREEN, AL (WAFF) - A Hazel Green woman is calling for a dangerous dog ordinance in Madison County after she says she was attacked by a neighbor's pitbull.

She says the dog has still not been taken because there's a protocol that needs to be followed before the dog can be taken and quarantined.

So for now, Carolyn Hopkins says she's terrified to walk around her neighborhood.

Hopkins says she and a friend were walking by a neighbor's house Tuesday night, when she says the pitbull ran off the porch and attacked her.

Hopkins was treated at Crestwood Hospital for multiple cuts and puncture wounds.

She says sheriff's deputies came out and took a report that night, but she was told animal control can't come out at night.

Hopkins says she was also told animal control has to wait on the health department before it can act.

The health department sent Hopkins a letter Thursday informing her that the dog is not up-to-date on its rabies shots.

She's calling on county leadership to pass an ordinance to protect the community from potentially dangerous dogs.

"If you're going to own a dog like this, number one, I know pitbulls that are not vicious, but they keep them penned up and they keep them chained up," she said. "A tall enough fence like in Tennessee law, I think it's six to ten feet tall fence, that's acceptable to me."

Animal control could not be reached for comment on Sunday. 

The owner of the dog was also not home to speak to WAFF 48 News.

Hopkins says she is planning to attend the next county commission meeting to see what can be done.

©2010 WAFF. All rights reserved.

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First, I want to say to the newspaper that published this article

a)    The vicious picture of a dog showing its teeth is unnecessary

b)   It is spelled pit bull, not pitbull

Second, I am sorry the woman was attacked and I think it is asinine that no actions have been taken t o quarantine the dog. It should be put down as it attacked a human.

Third, I want to express my disdain for the dog’s owner. Thanks for being irresponsible and allowing your dog to attack a person. You just put another nail in the coffin of this wonderful and loyal breed. I am sorry the dog was put in an inappropriate situation by being left unattended on a front porch; furthermore, the owner should be punished for not having the dog up to date on its vaccines. This person shouldn’t own a dog of any breed.

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Dog shot in face by neighbor

by Adam Ghassemi

WOODLAND, Wash. --  A local man shot his neighbor's dog in the face after saying it went on his property and got aggressive.

The owner of the dog, Brian Morris, said that’s impossible because his Yellow Labrador  -- Ollie -- is mild-mannered and very calm.
But something happened earlier this week that's leaving Ollie with several wounds, a missing eye and in pain after suffering the shotgun blast. Three  pellets took out his left eye and wounds cover his face and body.

"You can tell it's kind of like at somewhat of an angle,” Morris said as he examined the angle of the shot gun blast to the dog. “More head on."

Morris admitted his dog got out of the Morris family's backyard July 13 and made it to a neighbor's home. That neighbor said Ollie tried to attack him while he was unloading groceries. It’s a claim that Morris said sounds nothing like his dog.

"This is the most well-mannered dog that I've ever been around,” Morris said. “It's unbelievable.  Is Ollie the type of dog that would attack a stranger? Absolutely not.  Absolutely not."

The neighbor who shot the dog, Ken Smith, didn't answer his door Saturday, but said by phone that another neighbor claimed a yellow lab got aggressive just a week prior. Smith said when Ollie showed up on his property, he shot his 12-gauge shotgun before Ollie could attack.

Morris simply can't believe it.

"If the dog is going to attack you, you think you'd go inside your house and stay there or call the sheriff or animal patrol or something, you know,” Morris said.

Morris said Ollie’s veterinarian bills are already in the thousands, but with hair expected to re-grow in just a few weeks,  Ollie should survive.

"He's a young dog,” Morris said. “They said he'll adapt well to just one eye, but I'm just glad to have him around still. He's a great dog."

Now the neighbors will have to figure out if this crosses the line – all while Ollie gets used to life without an eye.

"I'm absolutely disgusted and very upset,” Morris said.

There are no charges in this case, but Morris says he is considering getting an attorney.

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I question the neighbor’s story; if he was unloading groceries when the dog approached that means he would have had to have a loaded shotgun right there with him. Otherwise that means he went back inside the house to grab the gun and if that’s the case then he should have done the smart thing and stayed inside if he felt so threatened by the dog.

I feel so bad for the dog having to suffer through his injuries; however, if his owner had properly secured him and made sure he could not escape, then none of this would have happened. Responsible owners do not allow accidents to happen; they are smarter than their dog.

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Woman charged with leaving dog in hot car while she shopped
Originally published July 20, 2010
By Kate Leckie

Before she left the state of Washington to relocate to West Virginia, Cathryn Cordyack Washington had a veterinarian give her 14-year-old dog the OK to fly.

For Delta, a yellow Labrador retriever, the cross-country airplane trip wasn't a problem. It was the hot car she was left in after arriving that killed her.

According to charging documents filed in Frederick County District Court, Washington's retriever died of heart failure brought on by the stress of hyperthermia, suffered July 6 in the Costco parking lot as her owner shopped.

Returning to find Delta dead about 11:15 a.m., Washington immediately went back into Costco to return some of her purchases: a 40-pound bag of dry dog food, dog biscuits and two dog beds, according to court documents.

She told a clerk "she was returning the items because her dog had died," Animal Control Sgt. David Luckenbaugh wrote.

Alarmed, a Costco employee canvassed the parking lot and found what looked like a dead dog in a car. The temperature in Frederick that day was 104 degrees.

Costco staff dialed 911 about 12:30 p.m. The woman with the dead dog had already left.

Dispatchers notified Frederick police and county sheriff's deputies to look for a silver Chevrolet Malibu with Virginia tags.

Further, they described the heavyset woman driving to be in her 60s. She was wearing a purple sundress.

The search for the driver soon ended when a woman matching her description walked into the Animal Control Center in Frederick about 1 p.m.

The woman, identified as Washington, said she wanted to drop off a dead dog for disposal.

A temperature reading of the animal taken during a rectal exam was 110 degrees, a fatal level, a veterinarian later said.

The dog "was severely stressed as it died," the veterinarian told authorities.

Washington told animal control authorities she had no choice but to leave Delta in her car unattended. "She had to get her shopping done and there was nowhere else she could leave the dog."

A summons has been issued charging Washington, of Fairmont, W.Va., with two cruelty charges for failing to provide adequate food, water and shelter and infliction of unnecessary suffering and pain, documents state.

The misdemeanors each are punishable by 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Animal Control Director Harold Domer said.

An Aug. 31 court date has been scheduled in District Court.

Washington could not be reached for comment.

Domer said pet owners need to be mindful of their animals at all times, but particularly when temperatures reach 85 degrees in the summer.

Pets can become distressed in the heat anywhere -- not only when they are in vehicles. Animals need access to shade and shelter, and water and food, whether they are inside or outside, he said.

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I do not understand how a woman could be so detached about losing her 14-year-old dog. She flies the dog all the way from Washington to the East Coast after getting the OK for the dog to fly and then just leaves her in the hot car to go buy dog food. I would like to know the time frame of this whole thing. When did she leave Washington State? How long had she been in West Virginia? Why didn’t she leave the dog at her home? This must have been an awful death for this poor dog and it is scary how the woman went about everything from returning the dog food immediately upon finding the dog dead to just nonchalantly asking AC where she could drop a dead dog off for disposal. This story sickens me; something is missing from this story. RIP Sweet Delta! I hope they make an example out of your owner.

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Police respond to dog bite in Hannibal

HANNIBAL, MO. --  News release from the Hannibal Police Department:

The Hannibal Police Department, Animal Control is investigating a report of an alleged dog bite in the 1600 Block of Fulton Saturday. The Hannibal Police Department were notified at approximately 3 p.m. of an alleged dog bite that had occurred inside a residence. Animal Control responded and located a 27-year old Hannibal female had sustained injuries as a result of an alleged dog bite. Marion County Ambulance was summoned to treat the female who had injuries to an arm as well as injuries to her face.

As the female was receiving treatment and officers were investigating the alleged bite it was found that the dog had been confined in a room inside the house. Hannibal Police Officers were called to assist in taking the animal into custody. Animal Control assisted by Hannibal Police were able to capture the animal, which was aggressive toward officers. In order to capture the dog officers had to use a tranquilizer gun as well as a tazer. After a short time the dog was able to be controlled by the use of a catch pole and taken to the NEMO Humane Society. The dog sustained minor injury. No other persons were injured during the capture.

The female was transported to Hannibal Regional Hospital where she received treatment for her injuries. The Hannibal Police Department is currently investigating the dog bite and is seeking the owner of the dog reference to pending charges. The victim of the dog bite was temporarily staying at the residence were the bite occurred and that residence is the residence of the dog.

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Do you know what I like about this dog bite report? It does not identify any breed of dog; it strictly refers to the incident as an alleged dog bite by a dog. Granted it is a copy of the police report but I wish that all media reports on dog bites looked something like this. It would greatly reduce the hype surrounding not only pit bulls but other breeds as well.