CALIFORNIA -- People who live in a Nipomo neighborhood are on edge after a woman says two dogs viciously attacked her dog, a Boxer.
Those two dogs, which are pit bulls, are still at home with their owner, who says he feels absolutely horrible about the situation but that he can't say he did anything wrong.
Those two dogs, which are pit bulls, are still at home with their owner, who says he feels absolutely horrible about the situation but that he can't say he did anything wrong.
Nipomo resident Mary O'Hara says she was walking her boxer Cassius the morning of March 22nd when two off-leash pit bulls approached them.
"They were going to kill the dog," she said. "There were just no two ways about it."
She says one attacked Cassius's neck, the other his back. A neighbor grabbed a shovel, hitting one of the attacking dogs.
"They were going to kill the dog," she said. "There were just no two ways about it."
She says one attacked Cassius's neck, the other his back. A neighbor grabbed a shovel, hitting one of the attacking dogs.
"It didn't faze him," she said. "So then he grabbed the shovel and beat the pit bull over the head four times before that pit bull released Cassius's neck and ear."
Cassius survived with injuries, but with the two dogs still there, it leaves a neighborhood on alert.
"All the neighbors, with the smaller dogs especially, they're armed," she said. "They have to go out and get pepper spray or carry a golf club."
Cassius survived with injuries, but with the two dogs still there, it leaves a neighborhood on alert.
"All the neighbors, with the smaller dogs especially, they're armed," she said. "They have to go out and get pepper spray or carry a golf club."
The two dogs in this case lived blocks away from O'Hara; she says they had been roaming the streets all night.
The owner of the pit bulls, who would only give his name as Jeff, said in a phone interview with KSBY News he did not intentionally let his dogs roam loose. He says they broke through a window the night before the attack after seeing another dog outside. He says there was a troublesome neighborhood dog--a fourth dog--outside that triggered their escape, adding that he searched the neighborhood until 2:30 a.m., looking for his dogs.
The owner of the pit bulls, who would only give his name as Jeff, said in a phone interview with KSBY News he did not intentionally let his dogs roam loose. He says they broke through a window the night before the attack after seeing another dog outside. He says there was a troublesome neighborhood dog--a fourth dog--outside that triggered their escape, adding that he searched the neighborhood until 2:30 a.m., looking for his dogs.
San Luis Obispo County Animal Services confirmed there was an attack and that the owner of the pit bulls was found at fault for letting his dogs run loose.
San Luis Obispo canine behavior specialist Ericka Duggan says pit bulls do have a genetic predisposition for aggression, but not to blame the animals.
"I do, however, think it's unfair to label all of the breed the same," she said. "And I think the real culprits are the people breeding the dogs, the people choosing these characteristics as well as the people owning them."
Duggan says there needs to be stricter control on the part of owners.
"As a community, I would really like to see everyone get together and stop the problem of roaming dogs," she said. "Have more accountability for owners regardless of the breed. Have people be able to feel safe walking their dog in their own neighborhood."
"As a community, I would really like to see everyone get together and stop the problem of roaming dogs," she said. "Have more accountability for owners regardless of the breed. Have people be able to feel safe walking their dog in their own neighborhood."
This comes just before the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors holds a hearing April 10th on an aggressive animal ordinance. Pet owners in the county could soon be forced to confine their pets if the animals are deemed aggressive. It also establishes a possible penalty for owners whose dogs seriously attack or kill pets owned by someone else.
There are currently no laws of this kind in place in San Luis Obispo County. There are, however, such laws in Santa Barbara County.
(KSBY - Apr 2, 2012)
