TEXAS -- The fate of three pit bulls, seized by Henderson County authorities after a 43-year-old Cherokee Shores man was allegedly attacked by the animals, gets a court hearing in April.
Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace Kevin Pollock, ordered two of the dogs, owned by David Hayes of Arrowhead Drive in Cherokee Shores, euthanized following a January hearing. An appeal of that decision will be presented before Henderson County Court at Law No. 1 Judge Scott Williams on April 21.
Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Officer John Haverly seized the dogs in January after Mikel Christopher Kirkpatrick of Payne Springs was hospitalized for injuries he allegedly suffered during a pit bull attack.
According to HCSO information, the incident occurred in the early morning hours of Jan. 19. A resident in the sub-division called dispatch after 5 a.m. saying Kirkpatrick was in the ditch covered with blood. The caller said she heard a dog barking and someone screaming. HCSO deputies arrived at the location, and took an animal-bite report.
EMS responded to the scene, and found Kirkpatrick had bite marks and lacerations on both his upper body and extremities. The injured man was transported to East Texas Medical Center in Gun Barrel City for treatment.
Kirkpatrick's injuries required him to be admitted into the hospital, and placed in the intensive care unit.
Hayes’ appeal, filed on Jan. 30, states that there is no evidence that the dogs in question caused the serious injuries to Kirkpatrick.
County Attorney Clint Davis said the JP2 decision to destroy the dogs has been appealed. His office will ask the judge to destroy all three dogs.
“I believe that we have sufficient evidence that all three should be deemed dangerous dogs,” Davis said. “Once that determination has been made, then they would have to meet the requirements of the Texas Health and Safety Code.”
Under the Texas Health and Safety Code a dog that is determined to be dangerous can be released back to the owners, but the owners have to meet certain requirements of the code. Among those are insurance, shots up to date and spaying or neutering.
“They have expressed no interest in complying in any way with the health and safety code,” Davis said.
The Texas Health and Safety Code defines a dangerous dog as a dog that:
A) makes an unprovoked attack on a person that causes bodily injury, and occurs in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept, and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own; or
(B) commits unprovoked acts in a place other than an enclosure in which the dog was being kept, and that was reasonably certain to prevent the dog from leaving the enclosure on its own, and those acts cause a person to reasonably believe that the dog will attack and cause bodily injury to that person.
Williams said all pending motions in the appeal are due in on April 6, and the trial is scheduled for 9 a.m. on April 21. County Court at Law No. 1 is located in the Henderson County Courthouse.
(Athens Review - March 19, 2015)
