OHIO -- A Mount Vernon woman will be required to take additional precautions with two dogs who chased and bit an 11-year-old boy now that appeals court judges have upheld the Knox County dog warden's decision to designate the two boxers as vicious.
The 5th District Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by Kathryn L. Edwards that sought the reversal of an order by Mount Vernon Municipal Court affirming the dog warden's decision.
The dogs, named Joy and Rita, were part of a group of three boxers that apparently escaped from an enclosure and attacked an 11-year-old child on his own property on Mount Vernon's north side on March 26, 2014, according to Knox County assistant prosecutor Joseph D. Saks.
The boy, named in appeals court records only as as "T.M.," required 24 stitches.
The 11-year-old was outside playing in his yard when he saw three dogs running toward him. He ran into a garage to avoid the dogs, but went back outside when they allegedly emerged back out of the woods, "charged" him, bit and dragged him, according to prosecutors.
The boy testified in court that he had not teased or tormented the dogs and did not yell at them.
His great-aunt, Teena Lang, said she heard a "blood-curdling scream" and saw all three dogs attacking the boy, snarling and biting. She said she kicked at the dogs and threw gravel at them to get them to leave, and that the boy had a difficult time walking and had bleeding wounds.
The 11-year-old received stitches on his right leg and both arms, was seen in the emergency room twice and in a wound clinic 10 times, missed three days of school, and could not participate in gym classes for about a month, according to court records.
The dogs were seized by the Knox County dog warden's office.
One of the three boxers, named Owen, later died.
During Mount Vernon Municipal Court hearings, Nancy Heinold, a veterinarian familiar with the dogs. said she never had any problem with them. Heinold testified she believed the dogs attacked because "it was a pack situation" and the child's movements of his arms and screams helped "exacerbate a bite."
Veterinarian Shana Gilbert-Gregory testified she evaluated Rita and found no signs of aggression or viciousness. Professional dog trainer Robb Icely testified he evaluated Joy and Owen, who were on leashes at the time, and found them not aggressive.
The owner, who breeds boxers, testified the dogs had never bitten anyone.
In its ruling, released earlier this month, the 5th District Court panel noted the three dogs were difficult to tell apart in photos: "It would be impossible to discern which dog made which wound. We find sufficient clear and convincing evidence to support the conclusion that each dog bit (the boy) and each dog contributed to his serious injuries."
The three-judge panel concluded it was obvious from testimony on the dogs' individual nonaggression that "a pack mentality occurred, and was more likely than not the result of the three dogs escaping from their enclosure and running free on strange turf."
Despite that, "the facts are what they are for that March day. We find the dogs' designation as vicious dogs ... to be substantiated by the evidence, and do not find any manifest miscarriage of justice," Judge Sheila Farmer wrote.
Saks said state law imposes several requirements on owners if a dog is found to be vicious. The owner must obtain liability insurance, microchip the animal, and take steps to restrain the dog when it is out. More severe criminal penalties can be imposed if a dog runs loose or harms someone, he said.
While destroying a dog is a possibility under state law if it is found to be vicious, "the court did not order that, in this case," he said.
The requirements imposed on Edwards and the dogs by the local court have been on hold while appeal was pending, he said.
(Mansfield News Journal - Apr 10, 2015)
No comments:
Post a Comment