Two other dogs that bit the woman have been quarantined and will later be euthanized, a county official said.
Tim Jennings, director of county animal control, said that the euthanized dogs had a history of being aggressive toward people and had displayed pack behavior.
"We didn't feel that they could be part of the adoption program," Jennings said. "We didn't have any of choice but to put them asleep."
The other two dogs that severely injured Kim Payne Sept. 4 eventually will be euthanized as well, Jennings said. Those dogs have been deemed dangerous, he added.
Payne suffered bone-deep puncture wounds to her thigh and arm before a neighbor drove the dogs away with an aluminum baseball bat.
Payne said Wednesday she has mixed feelings about the dogs' fate.
"I hate it for the dogs," Payne said. "They were not the ones at fault. But it is sickening what happened to me."
Animal-control officers seized those four adult dogs and seven puppies after the attack. Jennings said that puppies are being evaluated to determine if they can be adopted.
The dogs' owner, Dewane Rickman of 1228 Gholson Ave., was cited for violations in connection with the attack. He said he wasn't at home when his four dogs ran out of his house.
"I don't like it," Rickman said about his dogs being euthanized and quarantined. "But there is nothing I can do about it."
Rickman was cited for failing to control a vicious animal, cruelty to animals, failing to restrain his dogs, possessing a dangerous dog, not having up-to-date rabies vaccinations for his dogs, and failing to register his dogs, authorities said.
"They can charge me with anything they like," Rickman said. "I don't have any money to pay them (the citations)."
Rickman and his wife, Deborah Holland, said they wanted animal-control officers to return one of their seized dogs named Gustav. Rickman and Holland said that the 9-month-old dog didn't attack or charge at Payne and remained in their house when the other dogs ran toward Payne.
Rickman also said he hasn't spoken to Payne about the attack.
Jennings said that Gustav likely was one of the euthanized dogs. The county will retain custody of the remaining dogs, and none of them will be returned to Rickman and his wife, Jennings said.
Holland said that animal-control officials should give the dogs they seized medication to calm them down and make them less aggressive.
Jennings said that dog owners — not animal control officers — are responsible for giving their pets medication to control their behavior.
"They (Rickman and Holland) didn't exercise responsible ownership," Jennings said.
Payne said she is still in pain from her wounds, and she wants Rickman to apologize to her.
"I ran through so many bandages," she said. "It is unbelievable."
(Winston-Salem Journal - Sept 12, 2012)
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