Shatoris Jackson, who lives on Division near Moore, told the Saginaw City Council on Monday, Aug. 5, that her neighbor's pit bull attacked and killed her Chihuahua July 30.
The Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office will assist Saginaw County Animal Control by presenting evidence in the dangerous dog hearing portion of the case, Assistant Prosecutor Chris Boyd said, while the city attorney will present evidence related to ordinance violations issued to the pit bull's owner for not complying with Saginaw's dangerous dog ordinance and for failing to properly license the dog.
Saginaw County Animal Control officers seized the dog Thursday, Aug. 8, Director Kevin Wilken said Friday, Aug. 9.
"We received a court order to remove the dog, and we executed (the court order) yesterday," Wilken said.
A hearing has been tentatively set for Monday, Aug. 19, but may have to be changed, Wilken said, because he may not be able to testify on that date.
Jackson, the owner of the Chihuahua, said she made several reports that the pit bull has threatened her family for years before the attack that killed her Chihuahua.
"He grabbed my Chihuahua, pulled it up underneath the fence and mauled it to death and drug the dog back to its dog house," Jackson said during the Saginaw council meeting.
Wilken said he and two other animal control officers investigated with the help of city police officers. He initially said the investigation showed that the pit bull likely did kill Jackson's Chihuahua.
The investigation showed that the pit bull could not have gotten into Jackson's yard from the neighbor's property, Wilken said.
Jackson disagrees.
"It's simply a matter of presenting the facts," Boyd said. "There may be some conflicting testimony, and it will be up to the judge to resolve the issue and determine if it in fact is a dangerous dog. If it is, the decision will be made whether to have it euthanized or to comply with other aspects of the statute."
(MLive - Aug 9, 2013)
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