In July, hearings officer Linda Beloof decided that the dog should be removed from Connie K. Walker's Gresham home for good after the dog bit three strangers -- a nurse, a patient at a Gresham medical clinic and a TriMet bus driver -- over the course of a year from February 2014 to January 2015.
The ruling came after Multnomah County Animal Services reported that Walker has repeatedly refused to follow previous directives to muzzle the dog while out in public or confine the dog to a back room of her home when caregivers visit.
The case has put Animal Services, the hearings officer and now a Multnomah County Circuit judge in the unenviable position of deciding whether to strip a disabled woman of her service animal.
"This is a very difficult and unfortunate situation," the hearings officer wrote. "I am reluctant to take Noni away from Ms. Walker; I also understand the County's concern that the public needs to be kept safe from Noni."
The case won't be argued before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Thomas Ryan until December at the earliest.
In the meantime, Walker's attorney has won a temporary order stopping Animal Services from taking Noni from her home.
Walker hadn't been muzzling Noni because she thought it sent the message that the dog was vicious when it's not, said her lawyer, Robert Babcock of Lake Oswego.
"That has been her view -- that basically people should know better than to pat or reach down or approach suddenly working dogs," Babcock said. "She didn't want to use the muzzle."
But ever since the order to remove the dog, Walker has followed the restrictions "whether she likes it or not," Babcock said.
If Walker loses Noni, it's unclear if she could get another accredited guide dog. It's also unclear what would happen to the dog. Beloof, the hearings officer, has increased its classification from a "Level 3 potentially dangerous dog" to the county's highest caution category, "Level 4 potentially dangerous dog."
A Level 4 dog seized by officials isn't automatically euthanized, said Jackie Rose, Animal Services director. The dog could go to a new home if an evaluation shows adoption would work, but it would have to wear a muzzle in public, among other restrictions, she said.
"It's not a life sentence or a death sentence, by any means," Rose said of Level 4 dogs. "Our goal is to not euthanize. Our goal is to place as many animals as we possibly can."
Rose declined to comment further about Walker's case because it's pending.
Babcock declined a request to interview his client.
But records show that Animal Services has struggled with what to do about Walker and her dog as reports mounted of Noni's concerning behavior.
According to the case file, a deputy public guardian with Multnomah County Aging and Disability Services said caregivers who dispense medications to Walker at her home or visit to check on her well-being have repeatedly been confronted by the dog barking, lunging and growling at them -- and that Walker has refused to confine the animal.
"Ms. Walker will not give 'Noni' up voluntarily, even threatening suicide," states a summary of the guardian's statements.
The guardian also reported that Walker said the dog has bitten her in the face.
Two medical providers have refused to treat Walker if she brings her dog along to appointments. Neighbors also have complained about Noni's barking.
Walker's troubles with Animal Services ramped up in February 2014, when a nurse at Adventist Medical Center reported that Walker and her dog had been brought to the Southeast Portland hospital by ambulance. The two had been placed in a room and at first, "Noni was very sweet to me, jumping onto my shoulders and licking my face, tail wagging," wrote nurse Mary French.
But the nurse wrote that Noni later aggressively barked and lunged at three other staff members, then scratched the back of her hand and lunged toward her face. The wound didn't break the nurse's skin, but it was sore for a few days.
Walker's side of the story wasn't included in records submitted to the court. She received a "notice of infraction" from Animal Services and ordered to muzzle the dog in public and keep it in another room when caregivers visited her home. She also was warned that new violations could result in loss of ownership, according to the case file.
In August 2014, a man at a Providence medical clinic in Gresham reported that he had walked up to a reception-area counter to sign in when Noni -- who he had seen sleeping seconds earlier at Walker's feet -- suddenly bit his arm. The man, Merle Schnackenberg, said he did nothing to agitate the dog.
Walker told Animal Services that the man must have done something to provoke her dog, but she couldn't be sure what that was because she couldn't see.
Then in January, Noni bit a TriMet LIFT operator in the hand after he arrived at Walker's doorstep to give her a ride. The operator, Lynn Spuhler, wrote that the dog was barking when Walker opened the door. Walker asked the operator to take her bag, and when he touched the bag, the dog started barking even more.
"The dog started to settle down and I said let me have him sniff my hand, when I held my hand out he sniffed it then lunged and before I could pull it back he bit me," Spuhler wrote.
Walker added to the dog's agitation, he wrote. "Instead of being calm with the dog she was yelling at it, jerking on his lead violently, hitting him," he wrote. The bite broke his skin and was bleeding.
In her dog's defense, Walker said the TriMet driver stepped into her home before the dog bit her.
"They're not supposed to step in," said Babock, Walker's attorney.
Animal Services cited Walker in each of the three cases. That led to a June hearing and Beloof's July order revoking Walker's ownership.
Walker is getting free legal assistance from Babcock. Babcock's wife, Gail O'Connell-Babcock, learned of Walker's situation through her nonprofit called Watchdog and offered her husband's legal services.
For years, Watchdog has vocally criticized euthanasia by Animal Services. The organization states its mission as "Protecting pets and people from Oregon's animal control agencies."
(Oregon Live - Dec 13, 2015)
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