Layton resident Dave Bingham has been cited for having a dog at large. The charge carries a maximum fine of $750 and/or 90 days in jail, said Assistant City Prosecutor Clint Drake.
The charge stems from a July 5 incident when Bingham's dogs gained access to the backyard of George and Beckie Vega.
Beckie Vega was bitten on the left foot by one of Bingham's dogs. She said she was trying to rescue the Pekingese.
Bingham said he has yet to be notified of the citation or a court date, but will be pleading not guilty.
"I want a judge to hear this case. I need a judge to hear everything," he said. "My dogs deserve better than this. They are victims in this case."
Attempts to reach the Vegas were unsuccessful.
Because of conflicting reports and the amount of evidence that continued to stream into the city regarding the incident, Drake said, there was a delay in the review of the case.
Upon completing its review, he said, the city did not request that the court order Bingham's dogs to be euthanized as George Vega had requested.
Bingham's dogs entered the Vegas' backyard by jumping over a fence while the family was doing yardwork and attacked Lilo, their Pekingese, George Vega said in an earlier Standard-Examiner article.
Lilo sustained internal and external wounds, resulting in 30 stitches, Beckie Vega said.
Bingham, who was not home when the incident occurred, said he is having a hard time believing the Vegas' story. He said if his dogs did attack, it is because the Vega family has antagonized them in the past.
In addition to being cited by Layton city, Davis County Animal Care & Control quarantined Bingham's dogs for 10 days, labeling them as potentially dangerous animals and requiring they be leashed at all times in public and kept in an enclosed kennel when left unattended at Bingham's home.
The county also required Bingham to build an enclosed kennel for Willie, a black Lab mix, and Blue, a blue-eyed Australian shepherd mix, and construct a more secure fence between his property and the Vegas' backyard.
Bingham said the fence work and the kennel cost about $2,000.
[NOTE: I hadn't seen this story earlier this sumer. The more I read the older stories, the more infuriated I got. This guy's dogs dug through a fence to attack a woman and her small dog and yet, according to the dog owner, it's the victim's fault -- b/c they supposedly antagonized his dogs in the past?! OMG! My head is exploding.
This moron not only fought - and won - to keep his aggressive dogs alive, but he also whines like a little baby about not being allowed to let them 'play' in the backyard and how much the fence cost him and how it's all his neighbors' faults that he's in the position he's in. I want to punch him in his face.
And how are the victims ever truly going to be able to enjoy their yard and have their little dog outside without fearing that these two dogs will escape and attack them again?]
(Standard Examiner - September 3, 2011)
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