Dog That Attacked Two People Remains with Owner in San Diego

CALIFORNIA -- A dog considered "dangerous" by La Mesa Animal Control after it attacked two people in a one-year span remains at home with its owner.

Kimberly Miller of El Cajon was working in La Mesa on March 14, cleaning pools as a private contractor, when she said she was viciously attacked by a Cane Corso named Sampson from behind.

 

"This dog was literally eating me. Like I was a steak bone. It was the most traumatic thing I've ever gone through in my life," said Miller, who still has visible scars up and down her right leg.

Eight weeks after the attack, Miller says she has amassed roughly $80,000 in hospital bills and can barely hobble around her home.

She learned Monday that Sampson, a 4-year-old Cane Corso with a black coat who attacked another person in 2011, is living with his owner in San Diego.

"It makes me feel like the officers think was just a little dog bite. Like I just got nipped and I'm making a big deal. This has changed my life," she said.

La Mesa Animal Control responded to the attack on March 14 and ordered the owner, identified in a police record as Ryan McKernan, to quarantine the dog at home for about 10 days, which is standard procedure, said La Mesa Police spokesperson Matt Nicholass. Animal Control is part of the La Mesa Police Department.

When the Animal Control officer, Cassie Newmark, followed up with the owner, she was told the dog would be euthanized by a private company, Nicholass said. Newmark later learned that McKernan reneged on the agreement. She returned to McKernan's home to find he and the dog had moved altogether, he said.

Tracking down the owner to take the dog into custody became difficult, but eventually Newmark learned that McKernan was living in San Diego, creating issues with jurisdiction, he said.

Newmark has been working with the City of San Diego's Animal Control unit, which has agreed to take over the case, Nicholass said.

Miller may always walk with some kind of limp. She says she's hoping the dog is taken into custody and euthanized soon, before it attacks someone else.

San Diego 6 could not reach the dog's owner, Ryan McKernan, for comment.

(San Diego 6 - May 8, 2012)