CALIFORNIA -- Two longtime Rossmoor neighbors on Yellowtail Drive are mourning the deaths of their dogs today under very different yet intertwined circumstances.
On Monday, Ron Singer’s Bichon Frise, Riley, 10, succumbed to injuries suffered when his neighbor’s Rhodesian Ridgeback, Freeway, got loose and attacked Riley.
Under investigation by Orange County Animal Control and facing pressure to put their dog down following the attack, Freeway’s owners Steve and Aileen Mihalik surrendered Freeway to the county to be euthanized. They feel they were unduly pressured to put the dog down by an animal control officer responding to public outcry over the attack.
Rescued from the 405
It was unlikely that Freeway ever made it into the Mihalik’s lives.
“My son saved her from the freeway. She was wandering between the cars, and she was starving,” said Aileen Mihalik.
With a piece of gum, he was able to lure the starving dog into his car.
From then on, Freeway was part of the Mihalik family.
Though Rhodesian Ridgebacks were bred to hunt lions in Africa, Freeway had always been docile, according to the Mihaliks. She was fine around children and gentle with other dogs, said Steve Mihalik.
But somehow she got out last Friday, something she had never done before, and she charged Riley.
"It had Riley in its jaw."
Ron and Louise Singer were walking their two little dogs, Riley and Trixie, when the attack happened.
“It was horrible,” said Ron Singer. “It had Riley in its jaw and was shaking her like a rag doll. There was nothing I could do to stop it.”
Another neighbor intervened, shouting at Freeway to get her to stop the attack.
Riley, a gentle little rescue dog from the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, fought through 5-1/2 hours of surgery, but, in the end, her injuries were too much.
“Riley was a hero. If Riley wasn’t there, that dog could have easily gone after a little girl who was playing about 10 feet away,” said Singer.
After releasing Riley, the dog briefly charged toward Trixie who was tucked in Louise Singer’s arms but then gave up and returned home, said Ron Singer.
The attack was unprovoked and brutal and left a hole in the family, he added.
The Singers plan to adopt another Bichon, but they don’t believe they can ever replace Riley.
“Trixie is just lost. I am lost,” said Singer. “We need a second dog.”
The Decision to Euthanize
The Mihaliks are also suffering without their dog.
The couple didn’t know about the attack until an officer with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department knocked on their door.
The law is very clear about how the county must handle a dog attack, said Ryan Drabek, director of the Orange County Animal Care Center.
The county must investigate the attack to determine if the dog is potentially dangerous or vicious, said Drabek.
Investigators will interview witnesses and neighbors to determine if the fatal attack was unprovoked and if the dog has a history of bites or being loose in the neighborhood. It’s a process that can take a couple weeks. If the dog is found to be potentially dangerous, the owners may be required to take a number of measures such as installing a locked gate and a dog-run, purchasing liability insurance and an annual $644 permit to cover the cost of routine inspections, said Drabek.
“In very rare occasions, we can impound a dog and euthanize it,” Drabek added.
The Mihaliks were given a letter informing them of the process before it began, said Drabek.
In this case, the investigation was never completed because the Mihaliks surrendered Freeway to be euthanized, said Drabek.
Drabek said he doesn’t understand why the Mihaliks felt pressured to euthanize the dog.
“Our job isn’t to pressure people into having their animals euthanized. It wasn’t a situation where we impounded their dog,” Drabek said. “The dog was brought to us. They drove it to us and surrendered it to us.”
But the Mihaliks say that the animal control investigator led them to believe that they had no choice in the matter given outrage in Rossmoor over the unprovoked attack by a dog off leash.
“I brought up every kind of option I possibly think of,” Steve Mihalik said.
Mihalik said he offered to ship the dog to live with his daughter in Switzerland.
“I cried for two days and begged (the animal control officer) to let us keep her for one more day so that my son could say goodbye,” said Aileen Mihalik. “But she said, ‘No, it has to be done today.’”
“She more or less stated that the community wants that dog put down,” added Steve Mihalik.
Though Freeway was never officially declared a dangerous dog, she was put down early this week.
(Los Alamitos Patch - December 2, 2011)
