WASHINGTON -- Animal control authorities are hunting for four aggressive German Shepherds that have bitten at least 11 Cowlitz County residents. Once the dogs are caught, authorities plan to obtain a court order to euthanize them.
Their owner, transient Ingrid Sacha, has hidden three of the four dogs — Cowboy, Marlie, and Lugg. The fourth, Sadie, who bit six people last year at the former Oaks Trailer Park and at Camp Kalama, is believed to be in Sacha’s custody, court documents say.
The Humane Society has declared all the dogs “dangerous” and reports that Sacha has not taken the required steps to comply with state laws regarding dangerous dogs.
“She’s been on the run. ... I’m always chasing a ghost,” Animal Control Supervisor Mike Nicholson said Thursday. “We want the dogs.”
Sacha, 45, has been tough to track down because she often would bribe the dog bite victims not to report the incidents or go to the hospital, said Nicholson, who doesn’t know what Sacha used as bribes. Several of the victims did report the bites several days later, but by then, Sacha had disappeared, he said. Several victims racked up medical bills they don’t have the means to pay, he said.
“I know there’s more victims out there, based on how she’s influenced people not to report this to animal control,” Nicholson said. “I want those victims to come forward. .... I want them in court with me.”
Since 2010, Animal Control has written Sacha $4,483 worth of citations for dog bites, aggressiveness, public nuisances and failing to register her dogs. In addition, she’s been billed for $1,982 in Humane Society impound fees for her dogs’ care, said Nicholson, who did not know if she’d paid the fines or impound bill.
Sacha is being charged in Cowlitz County District Court with four counts of dangerous dog violations, which are misdemeanors. Sacha, who was assigned a public defender, pleaded not guilty in January.
Court documents state that Sacha did not obey the Humane Society’s order last summer to register the dogs as dangerous within 15 days, and she didn’t appeal the dangerous dog declaration for the four dogs. Nicholson reported when he issued Sacha the declaration July 30, she threw the papers to the ground and yelled an expletive at him. Then she hid the dogs from authorities, he said.
By state law, animal control can immediately confiscate any dangerous dog that isn’t validly registered, covered by liability insurance and kept in a proper enclosure. An owner of a dangerous dog that bites or attacks a person or domesticated animal again is guilty of a felony.
“The sad thing about it is these animals suffer death because of the owner not complying with the law,” Nicholson said. “But she chose to run and hide from authorities.”
To meet the court’s threshold for “dangerous,” a dog must kill a domesticated animal or human or inflict severe injury without provocation, or attack someone after being designated “potentially dangerous.” Dangerous dogs cost $250 a year to register and must be contained in a padlocked kennel when outdoors. Their owner must post DANGEROUS DOG signs on the property and buy $250,000 in additional homeowners’ insurance coverage.
All seven of Sacha’s German Shepherds have a history of violations. The earliest recorded goes back to 2008, when Sacha lived on Hall Road in Silver Lake. Neighbors made four complaints about her dogs running loose, being aggressive and biting, and Sacha was cited twice.
In 2011, the Humane Society fined Sacha $1,322 for allowing three of her dogs to roam her South Kelso neighborhood and failing to license them. That year, a mailman reported a minor bite from Cowboy, and a man reported Marlie bit him on the arm after he entered Sacha’s yard at 809 Elm St.
On Nov. 15, 2011, Marlie and Lugg attacked a female neighbor who walked into Sacha’s house, resulting in what Nicholson called “one of the worst maulings I’ve had.” The woman suffered several puncture wounds and required stitches to her face.
That incident prompted the Humane Society to declare Marlie and Lugg “potentially dangerous” and quarantine the dogs for 10 days. However, the Humane Society requested the court dismiss its case against Sacha and released Marlie and Lugg to her. That’s because the state Court of Appeals decided for complex legal reasons that certain parts of animal control ordinances that declared dogs dangerous or potentially dangerous were unconstitutional.
In February 2012, the Kelso City Council revised the city’s ordinance to comply with the reworked state law, which says pet owners can’t be charged a fee for their initial appeal of the dangerous dog declaration. The Humane Society declared Marlie and Lugg potentially dangerous in July 2012.
On March 18, 2012, Sacha’s dog Zoey and her 1-year-old pups Madison, Abbey and Sadie attacked a neighbor who knocked on Sacha’s door on Elm Street, wounding his hand and groin. That “potentially dangerous dog” case was dismissed because the victim didn’t show up in court to testify. (It turned out he was in prison.)
In 2013, Sacha’s dog Sadie attacked and bit five people at the Oaks Trailer Park on California Way.
Two men reported they were bitten March 5, but more than 10 days had passed since the attacks, meaning the time the Humane Society could quarantine the dogs had expired. The other three reported the attacks to the trailer park manager but ignored the Humane Society’s request to fill out official paperwork, Nicholson said.
Sadie’s two male victims appeared in court to testify about the attacks, but Sacha didn’t show up.
“She moved out of the trailer knowing we would be on her,” Nicholson said.
Sacha soon re-emerged at Camp Kalama, where Sadie, tethered to a long leash, attacked a 17-year-old boy walking past Sacha’s trailer on July 19. The boy managed to fight the dog off and escape with a superficial bite wound and scratches, Nicholson said. As usual, the victim waited several days before reporting the attack because Sacha had urged him to keep silent, Nicholson said.
After that, sheriff’s deputies tracked Sacha down and served her a court summons in the street, he said. Now, “we don’t know where she’s at,” Nicholson said.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Sacha’s dogs Sadie, Cowboy, Marlie or Lugg or has been bitten by them is asked to call the Humane Society at 360-577-0151.
(Longview Daily News - Mar 9, 2014)
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