“I was very upset, but it’s not the dog’s fault — it’s how he was raised. Our neighbor didn’t do a good job, and now the dog has gobbled Miya up,” Ono said. “His dogs get loose a lot, and we’ve tried to get the problem resolved, but he hasn’t done anything about it. It’s really upsetting.”
Ono, who lives on Husted Station Road in Upper Deerfield with her mother, Diane, said neighbor Richard Smitheman told her he breeds Rottweilers and owns four of the large dogs, including Blaze, the animal that killed Miya.
“...the Rottweiler viciously attacked the Pomeranian and had it in its mouth by the spine in between the front legs and the hind legs,” Diane Ono wrote in a Dec. 12 statement to Animal Control Officer Jim McCleery.
“I was still holding the other end of (Miya’s) leash, at which point the Rottweiler began shaking its head with our dog in its mouth back and forth very aggressively. The harness on the Pomeranian slipped off at this point, and all attempts to intervene only made the Rottweiler more aggressive.”
The Rottweiler ran off into the woods with Miya’s body in its mouth, and the Onos contacted the State police. Later that evening, Caitlin Ono found her dead dog and went to Smitheman’s house to tell him what had happened.
“I tried to contain myself but I yelled a little bit, then I walked back to my house and he followed me. We got into an argument, and he said he would go in halfsies with a fence,” Ono said. “I told him that wasn’t our job, to get a fence to contain his dogs, but he didn’t seem like he felt very bad at all.”
Smitheman’s attempts to restrict the Rottweilers to his property had failed on numerous occasions leading up to Miya’s death, with the Onos reporting at least one Rottweiler on their property on July 9, Aug. 23, Oct. 25, Nov. 6, Nov. 13 and Nov. 30.
These incidents were reported to have included a previous attack on Miya, as well as on the two petite women and on Diane Ono’s Chihuahua, Pito.
“He has a kennel, but it’s on dirt, so the dogs can dig underneath, and it’s a low-quality kennel,” said McCleery. “There are holes in the fence where the dogs have chewed through, and he’s patched them with plywood. It is a problem.”
McCleery said Smitheman had been issued a written warning on Oct. 25 for the dogs running loose, and prior to that had received a written warning pertaining to getting his dogs licensed.
On Dec. 12, following the Onos’ report of the Dec. 9 incident, McCleery issued Smitheman two summonses: one for allowing his dogs to “run at large,” and one for possession of a potentially dangerous dog. Smitheman is due in municipal court on Jan. 9 for a hearing on these issues.
The Upper Deerfield Township ordinance on “vicious and potentially dangerous dogs” states the court shall declare a dog to be potentially dangerous if it finds that the dog “...killed another domestic animal and poses a threat of death to a person or another domestic animal,” among other criteria.
McCleery said statutes applicable in this case could mandate a number of weighty ramifications for Smitheman and his Rottweiler, if a judge determines Blaze to be classified a potentially dangerous dog.
“One, you have to erect and maintain a potentially dangerous dog enclosure that has a sound bottom to prevent the animal from digging out, with a wire or metal top to prevent the animal from climbing out, suitably constructed so it can’t chew out,” McCleery said, likening the required cage-within-a-cage enclosure to a dangerous animal exhibit at the zoo.
Said cages require secure locks, and signage must posted around the perimeter of the property declaring a dangerous dog is there.
In addition, the owner of a potentially dangerous dog must purchase a specific license for $150 to $700 per year and, at the discretion of the court, may be required to carry liability insurance on the dog above and beyond the homeowners policy, with the township named as an additional insured party.
When not in the house or approved enclosure, a dog deemed potentially dangerous must wear a wire-basket muzzle and be walked by a “competent individual” on an appropriately strong leash, McCleery said, recommending an aggressive Rottweiler be restrained on a horse lead.
“If you fail to comply with any of those criteria, it’s an automatic $1,000 fine for non-compliance, for every failure to comply with the provisions of keeping a potentially dangerous dog,” he noted.
“My submission is, dog owners look at the requirements and say, ‘I can’t do this, it’s too expensive and I’m going to turn the dog in to be put to sleep,’ in which case it’d be on the dog owner’s hands, not the court’s hands.
“I have only had one person comply with the provisions of potentially dangerous dog laws in 20 years experience and have had dozens put their dog down,” McCleery added, noting some insurance companies can drop homeowners for owning certain types of dogs deemed high-risk, including Rottweilers.
[I would like to know why the animal control officer didn't cite the owner or get the Pomeranian owners in court as witnesses as to the aggressive nature of this dog that was repeatedly on their property. Why didn't the animal control officer cite the Rottweiler as a dangerous dog before this happened?! The article clearly says he attacked another dog and two women already!]
Attempts by The News to contact Smitheman for comment were unsuccessful, but McCleery said Smitheman had voluntarily taken Blaze to the Cumberland County SPCA on Thursday to be housed there safely until a judge’s determination is made.
“I checked with (municipal prosecutor Edward Duffy), who said the dog needs to be seized. I approached (Smitheman) and he was initially reluctant, but I explained it was the law and that we could get a court order and the State police to come out and enforce the order,” McCleery said. “He agreed the best course of action would be to comply, so he voluntarily transported the animal to the shelter, where he will stay until the hearing has concluded.”
In the meanwhile, Ono said she and her mother are being extremely cautious in taking Pito, the family’s Chihuahua, outside. However, she plans to eventually get a new dog and is hoping for a peaceful resolution to the neighbors’ dispute.
“I really don’t want the dog to die, but the way he’s raised him, he’s like an attack dog. We just want him to keep everything under control so no one else has to go through this and have a problem,” Ono said.
McCleery said anyone facing an urgent animal control problem such as this incident should call 911. Less directly threatening cases, such as dogs running loose but not attacking, should be reported to the local animal control officer.
McCleery serves as the Animal Control Officer for Upper Deerfield, Greenwich and Commercial townships, as well as Pittsgrove Township in Salem County, and can be reached at (856) 694-2947.
(The News of Cumberland County - Dec 16, 2011)
