Campbell residents want pit bull out of neighborhood

OHIO -- Over the past few months, Linda Murphy had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen.

She was right.

About a month ago, Guido, the 2-year-old, 7-pound Maltese Pomeranian that lives in the house behind hers on Piccadilly Street, was attacked on his own property. He ended up with puncture wounds all over his neck and midway down his back, all caused by the pit bull living next door to Murphy on Princess Street, which had broken free from its chain.

Then, a couple of weeks later, Murphy let her two Yorkshire terriers outside. She didn’t know that the pit bull was standing behind a 6-foot hedge that marked the division between her property and her neighbor’s.

Her dogs — 9-year-old, 11-pound Bugga and 8-year-old, 8-pound Dude — went to investigate, wandering just slightly over the property line, and before she realized what was happening, it was too late.

“He tore into both of them,” Murphy said.

Bugga had a puncture wound to his chest, two broken ribs and a gash on his leg, but survived. Dude, who had a hole in his chest and was spewing blood, didn’t.

Now, Murphy said she owes more than $2,000 in veterinary bills and feels as though she’s a prisoner in her own house. The pit bull, she added, is simply a “threat to the neighborhood.”

“Something has to be done to get this dog out of this neighborhood,” Murphy said.

Catrina Hall, Guido’s owner, agreed with Murphy, explaining that it’s not as though problems with the pit bull have been “a one-time thing.”

Instead, “three little dogs have been attacked by this dog,” and she wonders who will be next. Its next victim could easily be a person, she said.

Both Hall and Murphy mentioned starting a petition to have the dog removed from the neighborhood.
The pit bull’s owner declined to comment on the incidents when Vindicator reporters visited his home.

Dianne L. Fry, Mahoning County dog warden, said though the situation in Campbell is unfortunate, it’s also a “real sticky” one.

According to state law, any dog can be designated as a nuisance dog, a vicious dog or a dangerous dog. If a dog “did kill another dog off its own property,” for example, it could be deemed a dangerous dog, and its owners would have 10 days to appeal that designation, Fry said. If the appeal is denied, its owner would then have to comply with certain protocol, such as keeping the dog on its property and away from others.

The entire matter becomes more complicated when “a dog is on its own property and someone else’s dog comes into it,” and it attacks, even if the dog is “just a little bit over” the property line, Fry added.

“Legally, you need to have control over your dog,” she said. “If it is in its yard and protecting itself, that makes it a little more difficult to say it’s that dog’s fault.”

She noted that accidents do happen, but there are now “a lot of options for people to try to keep their dog under control,” including leashes, chains and fences, invisible or otherwise.

“You always want to tell people to be responsible about their animals,” Fry said. “But it’s so sad when you see dogs get into fights and see somebody’s dog get killed.”

(Youngstown Vindicator - June 24, 2014)