It’s a bread-and-butter ride, he said, one that he takes when he has hours to spare.
But this time, as he pedaled east between Wheatland and River roads, four dogs charged out of two residences and attacked him.
“I had one second to react, and they were right there,” Carey said. “I look down, and the dog’s got his teeth in me.”
Carey, 63, crashed his bike. He suffered bites on his ankle and lower leg, and although he doesn’t think the dogs continued to bite him after he fell, he had bloody scrapes and bruises from the crash on his knee, elbow, hands and hip.
Good Samaritans driving by stopped and gave him wipes for the blood. Carey called his wife, who took him to the emergency room at Salem Hospital. Doctors treated his wounds and put him on antibiotics.
When Carey’s wife called Marion County Dog Services to report the attack, she learned that hers was only the most recent report in a string of complaints against aggressive dogs in the 3400 block of Brooklake Road NE.
Between April 17 and June 17, the county received eight complaints about the dogs biting, growling and running loose. Despite those reports, the dogs have not been seized.
Sonya Pulvers, office manager for Marion County Dog Services, said they received a rash of complaints in a small window of time.
“Within 10 or 11 days it went from nothing to, ‘Oh, my goodness,’ ” Pulvers said.
Dog control officers issued a notice of civil infraction that identified a Labrador mix dog on June 18 and a notice that identified three boxer-mix dogs on June 25. They were issued to residents of two homes in the 3400 block of Brooklake Road NE.
Numerous calls made to Aaron and Trisha Cotton, owners of the boxer mixes, were not returned.
Neighbor Emilee Buchholz, owner of the Lab mix, which Carey named as the fourth dog in his complaint, declined to comment.
In the case of the Cottons’ three dogs, according to a report, an officer responded to the residence multiple times, including on May 31 when an officer told the owner that the fence needed to be raised to ensure the dogs could not escape.
Marion County Dog Shelter manager Allison Barrows said that because the Cottons have complied with the officer’s instructions, including raising the fence, there was no adequate reason to detain the dogs.
“We have to go through a hearing process, and dogs are contained on the property,” Barrow said. “If they weren’t able to contain dogs on the property, then we are more likely to take them.”
Since May 31, Marion County has received at least two other complaints about three dogs apparently escaping the fence.
The officer returned to the residence June 3 after a cyclist complained about a dog biting him on his calf. The officer noted in the report that the fence had been raised.
And on June 14 a neighbor complained about three medium-sized dogs that jump their fence and frequently run free.
The dogs “came out after her and her children, growling and circling them,” the complaint said.
When Carey took his bike into Scott’s Cycle after the incident, employees said it looked like he had fallen head-first over the handlebars. The brake levers were scuffed and bent inward.
Larry Lewis, a Scott’s Cycle employee and Salem area cyclist of 45 years, said he and a group of eight to 10 riders encountered two dogs on an evening ride through the area several weeks ago.
“We’ve done that area once a week, basically for years, and it was the first time we’d seen them,” Lewis said.
The two dogs, which Lewis believes were some of the same ones that attacked Carey, came running down a driveway, but turned around when the group yelled at them.
“Eight to 10 bikes might have been more intimidating,” Lewis said. “It was a very short issue that when we hollered, they turned around and retreated. They probably didn’t get within 15 feet.”
Lewis said he doesn’t see dogs often on rides and has few problems with animals in general.
“Whenever you see a dog your adrenaline runs because we know of cases like Mr. Carey,” Lewis said. “You’re really vulnerable, particularly if they grab your foot. We have no protection around us.”
County officials have scheduled a hearing for July 18 to consider whether the dogs have violated Marion County codes.
According to the Marion County dog control ordinance, the keeper of a dog commits a civil infraction if it runs at large, damages or destroys property of others, is a potentially dangerous dog, or is a dangerous dog. A dangerous dog is defined as a dog that without provocation and in an aggressive manner inflicts serious physical injury on a person.
A hearing officer can impose a fine and put restrictions on a dog, including fences and kennels. The hearing officer also could order an owner to surrender or relocate a dog, or in extreme cases, euthanize a dog.
Barrows acknowledged that Dog Services sometimes receives complaints that the agency fails to remove aggressive dogs. Usually, she said, the complaint is the first time they’re aware of a problem dog.
“They get frustrated, but we don’t even know it’s happening,” she said. “We want to make sure people understand that if it’s an issue, to call us so we can address the problem.”
Carey’s treatments are continuing. He said Brooklake Road is frequently traveled by cyclists, and he’s concerned that the dogs could attack someone again.
“This was not a very pleasant experience,” he said. “I would really be concerned (what could happen to them) if it was a small child or a person much older than I am.”
(Statesman Journal - July 1, 2013)
