Judges orders woman to rot in jail until she produces hidden pit bull which attacked little boy

WASHINGTON -- A woman who pleaded guilty after her dog attacked a young boy in Longview turned over a different dog to authorities, a judge has ruled.

Kimberly Vasquez was held in contempt of court Tuesday. She pleaded guilty to charges of dangerous dog attack and forgery in September.

She was then sentenced to 90 days in jail.

That sentence was delayed, however, after allegations surfaced that she had surrendered a second dog not involved in the case to be euthanized.

The whole situation began in August 2012.

Police said a pit bull named Lexi, spelled Lex'Xee, attacked a 5-year-old boy, leaving a gruesome wound on his leg. It happened on Cypress Street.

Vasquez, 40, told Fox 12 in August 2012 that the dog was often taunted by neighborhood kids and acted out of fear, not aggression, when it bit the boy.

"I had asked the kid three times to not ride his bike by the dog because I know how she is," Vasquez said.

She later added, "I'm very sorry about the kid, I really am. You have no idea how bad I feel."

The boy had to receive rabies shots, because police said Vasquez refused to turn over the dog to authorities.

According to court documents, between the day of the attack, Aug. 26, 2012, and Sept. 5, 2012, animal control officers made multiple attempts to take custody of the dog for a 10-day quarantine period for rabies observation.

Police said Vasquez provided animal control officers with a supposed copy of her dog's rabies certification on Aug. 28, 2012. However, after officers checked with the Vancouver animal hospital listed on the certificate, they discovered it was fake.

The doctor listed on the form had never been a veterinarian at the hospital, there were no records of the client or the dog in the hospital's database and even the phone number for the clinic was incorrect.

A probable cause police document from 2012 said Vasquez had hidden the dog.

Vasquez told Fox 12 in August 2012 that her son hid the dog.

This 'ringer' dog was turned in instead of the actual attack dog

"I honestly don't want to know where she is," she said.

A judge ruled Tuesday that the dog that was eventually turned over is actually a decoy.

The judge held Vasquez in contempt of court and ordered her to remain in jail until she turns over the correct dog.

Her original jail sentence won't begin until Vasquez is no longer in contempt of court.

No details were available about where she got the second dog.

(KPTV - Nov 11, 2013)

Earlier:

• Family refuses to turn over pit bull that bit 5-year-old boy
• Woman sentenced for pit bull attack, but did she turn over a different dog?