Eugene Love, of Waterloo, had earlier pleaded to six citations connected to two younger dogs involved in the August attack that put 65-year-old Vivien Brookman in the hospital with 200 bite marks.
But while Love admitted ownership of the small dogs, he denied owning the third, and largest, dog of the group. Then on Tuesday he didn’t appear for trial on five citations connected with the pit bull.
“In cases like this, I wish they would show up to take responsibility” or give their side, said Maria Tiller, the Waterloo Animal Control officer who investigated the attack.
She said Love refused to sign the citations for the large dog -- two counts of fear of attack, dog at large, proof of vaccination and no city dog license -- when she issued them. Had the trial commenced Tuesday, Tiller said evidence would have included neighbor sightings of him with three dogs, not just the two.
Also, in July, animal control officers were sent to a neglect complaint at the Riehl Street address of his girlfriend -- about a block away from the attack -- and found one of the younger dogs on the front porch and two others inside the home. And during another prior call, an animal control officer chased the three dogs, traveling as a group, toward the home.
With Love’s absence at trial, the court will enter a guilty finding on the five citations involving the large dog, and he will be fined $100 plus $85 in court costs per citation for a total of $925, said City Attorney David Zellhoefer.
The large dog was shot and killed by police who arrived to break up the attack after neighbors attempted to fight off the animals with downspouts, a BB gun and a Toyota Matrix. The younger dogs fled to the Riehl Street home. They were seized by animal control, and Love forfeited them.
Love has yet to pay the fines connected to the younger dogs, according to court records.
Tiller is currently involved with rewriting the city’s animal ordinances, a move she said will put more responsibility on the owners. She said the law will follow the owners and not the animals. For instance, an owner whose dog is involved in a vicious attack would be prohibited from owning another dog.
Tiller noted that firefighters investigating a kitchen blaze at the Riehl Street home in October found another pit bull in the basement.
(WCF Courier - Nov 27, 2013)
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