Officers shoot vicious dog


www.reviewonline.com
Posted : June 9, 2009|
By Jo Ann Bobby-Gilbert

Wellsville, OH. —A dog that bit a 3-year-old in the Highland Avenue area over the weekend was shot by village police and buried at Spring Hill Cemetery by a village worker.

The mixed-breed dog was unearthed by the same worker Monday afternoon after the bite victim's parents took the child to their family physician, who, in turn, notified the county health department, as required by law.

The saga began just before 3 p.m. Saturday when animal control officer Leslie Dean called for assistance from police due to a vicious dog having attacked a child.

While police reported Monday that they arrived to find Dean in her vehicle, saying she could not exit because the dog would attack, Dean said last night she had approached the dog prior to officers arriving on the scene, and it came at her, growling and barking.

She said she told residents to stay on the porch while she called police.

"There was nothing I could do. I am not equipped for that situation," she said.

Asked if the village provides no animal control equipment, Dean said she does have a pole with a loop at the end used to snare dogs but it has been broken since she took the job.

Nonetheless, she said, had she been able to capture the animal, she had no way to transport it since she uses her personal vehicle and it is equipped with just a light cage-type apparatus. Also, her two children were with her.

Dean said she has no problem transporting non-vicious dogs in her vehicle.

Police reported the dog went aggressively after another resident who came out while they were there, and an officer shot one round at the animal as it came toward them.

The dog ran under a porch, with officers uncertain whether it had been struck by the bullet.

With permission from Mayor Joe Surace and Lieutenant Ed Wilson, a second shot was fired, killing the dog.

Dean said she has no option but calling for assistance from police and fire personnel after 4 p.m. during the week and on weekends, since the county dog pound is closed.

"I wasn't about to leave that dog running the neighborhood, terrorizing residents. It had already attacked one child. It needed resolved," she said.

A few days prior, a man in the same neighborhood had reported the dog came at him while he was planting flowers and pointed out the house from which it came.

Dean said she had been to the same home a couple weeks before when the owner complained about another dog on her property, so she knew who to call.

The owner assured her the dog would be tied up inside the enclosure, and Dean said when the dog was killed, it was, in fact, carrying about three feet of chain behind it, leading her to believe the owner did try to restrain it.

The child was bitten in the back as she walked by the dog and was not antagonizing it in any way, according to Dean, who said the girl did not need emergency care, although she advised the parents to take her to the doctor Monday, knowing the health department would then be notified.

The owner told Dean she had administered vaccinations to all her dogs, including the one in question.

Officers asked her to handle the carcass, and Dean took it to the pound, called the mayor and was told he would handle its disposal.

Worker Jim Bauer said he was advised Monday via a note from Administrator Jim Saracco to dispose of the dog in the Dumpster but said it was already giving off an odor so he didn't think that was the best option so decided to bury it at the cemetery.

Bauer used the backhoe to inter the body in an isolated wooded area away from the actual burial grounds.

Cemetery Superintendent Mike Lombardozzi learned about the dog's burial Monday afternoon as Bauer was disinterring the animal and said it is illegal to bury an animal in a human cemetery.

When the health department learned of the bite, it notified Dean that the dog needed to be tested for rabies since the owner could not produce records of its vaccinations.

"I left the situation thinking she had records, but she didn't," Dean said, adding she also was not aware of the proper procedure for preserving a carcass in that situation.

She said the health department is aware the dog was buried for a time but still hopes to get a viable sample to test for rabies.

"It was a learning experience. I'm learning as I go. I'm grateful for the Wellsville police department; it was a terrible situation," Dean said, adding the situation is now in the health department's hands.