Her confusion turned to horror, however, as he described how he’d seen two Great Danes carry off Canakis’ 9-pound papillon.
“He got upset,” she said, “and said ‘those dogs next door are eating your dog right now.’ ”
Canakis, who lives with her husband and three children on Cedar Creek Road in Bishopville, said her neighbor’s Great Danes killed her dog Oct. 1. She has since filed charges against Lisa Lambright in Snow Hill District Court.
Canakis said her golden retriever and her papillon, Boo, were in her front yard — which is surrounded by an underground electric fence — like they were most days that Monday. She said the landscaping worker from across the street came to her door after seeing a Great Dane with something in its mouth.
“At first he thought it was a toy,” Canakis said, “but then he heard the yelping.”
By the time Canakis called the police and the man went to see if he could retrieve her dog, the animal was dead. According to Sgt. Ed Schreier of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Worcester County Animal Control issued the owner of the Great Danes a citation for having dogs at large.
The dogs were also deemed potentially dangerous, Schreier said. With that designation, if they are involved in another incident, they will be required to wear muzzles.
Canakis said she was still in disbelief about the entire incident.
“It was just awful,” she said, adding that the family’s golden retriever hadn’t eaten for several days after her fellow canine’s death. “It’s very sad.”
Canakis said her neighbor has five Great Danes that often roam the neighborhood freely. According to Maryland Case Search, Lambright was given probation before judgment and fined in 2011 for letting her dogs run at large.
Lambright could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
“It’s not fair to us that those five dogs are still there,” Canakis said. “I can’t bring my dog back, but I want to make our neighborhood safe.”
Residents of the small neighborhood, she said, were “petrified.”
“Those dogs are huge,” she said. “They could attack me.”
Canakis said she wanted to make people aware of what had happened to her dog to raise awareness of the dangers of unleashed dogs. She said she’d also like to see stricter repercussions for people who let their dogs run loose.
“Something’s got to be done,” she said.
Worcester County Commissioner Jim Bunting, who also lives in Bishopville, said he is working with the county attorney to see if laws regarding loose dogs can be strengthened.
He said on his street a pair of dogs had made the news earlier this year when they got loose and killed some of his neighbor’s goats. He said designating dogs like those as potentially dangerous was not effective in ensuring that they don’t hurt anyone.
“The problem with that is until they get out again and hurt somebody, there’s nothing Animal Control can do,” he said.
(Delmarvanow.com - Oct 10, 2012)
