Mediation between attorneys for Chris Herron and Cesar Siordia this month failed.
Herron sued Siordia, accusing the man of allowing his dogs to run free, resulting in the April 14, 2011 attack on 6-year-old Bojangles at Herron’s Bar H Ranch south of Riverside.
Herron originally sought the $5,000 purchase price from Siordia, but now Herron is seeking $65,000 – two times the $5,000 purchase price, the mini’s $5,000 transportation costs, $25,000 in punitive damages and $25,000 in attorneys fees.
“(Herron) said ‘All I wanted was for Mr. Siordia to take responsibility and pay for Bojangles,’ “
Herron’s attorney, Ontario-based Cynthia Hafif, said Thursday. “He’s very frustrated.”
Siordia’s attorney was on vacation this week and not available for comment. Rocio Ramirez, spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Veatch Carlson, confirmed Wednesday that mediation was unsuccessful.
Siordia said in a previous interview that he didn’t know for certain that it was his dogs, Trouble and Mangas Cochise, who attacked Bojangles. “I'm not going to let somebody extort me just because they can't find somebody else who did it,” Siordia said last June.
Siordia did acknowledge that Mangas Cochise had previously attacked a neighbor's dog and that he paid a $5,000 veterinarian bill in that incident.
Hafif said she has contacted Siordia’s insurance company this week in an attempt to work out a settlement. She said attorneys fees could reach $200,000 in a trial and that she didn’t understand why the case is dragging on.
“It’s insane,” Hafif said.
Siordia, who lives about 3 miles from the Bar H Ranch, was cited for violating the county’s leash law.
The two wolf-dogs were shot by a ranch hand about an hour after the attack. One died and the other was able to escape before being captured. It was euthanized.
Bojangles was frozen by veterinarian Susan Garlinghouse, who was at the ranch the day of the attack and removed the carcass, Hafif said. Garlinghouse now uses Bojangles’ body parts for teaching.
Wolf-dog hybrids are dogs that have been bred with wolves or wolf mixes. Detractors describe them as being wild and unpredictable, but supporters say they are good around people.
Some types are legal in California, but outlawed in some states because of attacks on people and pets.
Some states require permits, and other states don't regulate them. Fifteen wolf-dog hybrids were involved in fatal attacks on people from 1979-1996, according to a report on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
(Press Enterprise - April 13, 2012)
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