Janace Kathy Doolittle, 66, was left with deep puncture wounds and bites; but more traumatic for her was losing her pet Pomeranian, 8-year-old Cassidy.
Attorney Philip S. Kinney of Kinney & Sasso, Jacksonville is representing Doolittle. He said the lawsuit is filed against pit bull owners Julie Chase Shumer and attorney Frank Donald Shumer, both residents of the 2400 block of South Ponte Vedra Blvd. at the time; and their dog walker, Kenneth Samuel Savage, 43, of Duval County, who allegedly let the two pits run free on the beach.
Neither the Shumers nor Savage could be reached for comment.
The attackAccording to reports from St. Johns County Animal Control, Doolittle was walking down a path to the beach about 6:45 p.m. July 19, when she spotted the two American bulldog-pit mixes, Sunshine and Bosco, about 100 yards away in the water.
They were supposedly being watched by Kenneth Savage, but he had let the dogs loose to play in the water.
The male dog, Bosco, had been previously designated a dangerous dog, a legal definition that requires the owner to take special precautions to protect the public.
The female, Sunshine, had not been deemed dangerous but had taken part in attacks with Bosco.
Doolittle said later that the dogs had attacked multiple times on that beach in the past, so she immediately scooped up Cassidy and ran toward her home.
“I didn’t want to take a chance,” she said.
But both dogs chased her. Bosco jumped on her and knocked her down.
Doolittle had tucked Cassidy into her abdomen to protect her while the two dogs bit and tore at her body on the ground. She suffered injuries and punctures to both hands and ankles, and to her left knee and thigh.
Cassidy was bitten in the head and body and died in her owner’s arms.
“She’s the child we never had,” Doolittle said later.
During the melee, Savage choked Sunshine to death while attempting to get her off Doolittle. Bosco was captured later and destroyed; consistent with county policy toward dangerous dogs that participate in multiple attacks.
The aftermath
Kinney said, “Through our investigation we’ve uncovered several witnesses and persons attacked by these animals. For at least two years, Julie and Frank Shumer allowed their pit bulls to terrorize their neighbors and beach-goers, while repeatedly refusing to comply with the local leash law and the final judgment entered against them on Aug 15, 2012, by Judge (Charles) Tinlin.”
That meant they would be covered for four attacks before the policy reached $100,000.
“Further, the insurance company is now asserting that they may deny coverage because only Frank Shumer was listed on the policy, and Frank was not living at the home at the time of the incident. Although he was still an owner of their house, the Shumers had divorced in April,” Kinney said.
Witnesses saw Julie Shumer on the beach with another pit bull this past weekend, he said.
The lawsuitBosco and Sunshine had a bad reputation on that stretch of beach.
Here are the incidents:
■ In February 2010, Bosco and Sunshine, both without leashes, attacked and severely injured Margaret Huck’s Old English Sheepdog, Dena, who lives three houses from the Shumers.
■ The two attacked Dena a second time in November of that same year, again severely injuring her.
■ In September 2011, they did it a third time, causing Dena severe injuries once more.
■ Bosco acted aggressively to a neighbor six houses down from the Shumers. Without a leash or supervision, he forced neighbor Victoria Payne from the beach to her home.
■ Lisa Hancock, a neighbor 12 houses down, was attacked and bitten while walking on the beach near her home.
At that time, Bosco was deemed a “dangerous dog.” But the Shumers negotiated a settlement with the county reducing the label to “aggressive dog.” That meant keeping a leash on Bosco when in public.
The Shumers received a citation in August 2012 for allowing Bosco and Sunshine to run on the beach without leashes or muzzles.
“Lisa Hancock continued to see Bosco and Sunshine on the beach without leashes through the remainder of 2012 and 2013,” the lawsuit said.
During 2012, Julie Shumer’s housekeeper, Constance Anderson, was told to take Sunshine and Bosco for walks on the beach without leashes. In April this year, Anderson did as she was told, but the dogs broke away from her and attacked David Saltman and his dog Cooper, again causing severe injuries.
In May, Victoria Payne was again threatened by the two loose dogs on the beach and beach-walker Pamela Goodrich was forced into the water and severely bitten by the two dogs.
Goodrich recalled asked Ms. Shumer to call the dogs away and was told “they don’t bite.” After she was injured and Emergency Medical Services was called, Shumer ran away with the dogs.
In the lawsuit, Kinney requests a trial by jury.
(St. Augustine Record - Aug 13, 2013)
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