The ruling came during a quasi-judicial hearing at the commission’s regular meeting. Four of the five board members rejected a mediation offer from attorneys representing the family of Dawn and Jay Sweatt. Commissioner Frank Meeker was the lone vote in favor of the agreement.
The Sweatts own Bacchus, a 2-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever that attacked and bit Rickey Westfall, a neighbor and the friend of Rage, the Sweatt family’s 8-year-old son.
According to testimony heard in August, the dog grabbed Rickey’s cheek with his teeth and slammed the boy to the floor as he entered the Sweatt family’s Remington Road home on the southern outskirts of Flagler County. Rickey had to undergo reconstructive surgery as the bite left puncture wounds down to the bone and required him to receive 44 stitches.
Commissioners held a review hearing Sept. 9, during which they discussed the fate of Bacchus for nearly two hours. The same four commissioners who voted against Monday’s proposal voted to declare Bacchus dangerous at the September meeting.
Attorneys for the Sweatts filed a motion to appeal the commissioners’ decision in October and worked with county attorneys to form the proposed settlement.
The dangerous classification exposes the Sweatts to third-degree felony charges if Bacchus bites someone else. The designation also includes several public safety measures to ensure dangerous dogs don’t harm anyone else, such as vaccination requirements, posted warning signs and the building of a fence or proper enclosure to confine the animals from escaping the owner’s property. Dangerous dogs must also wear a muzzle and be leashed when they are within confined enclosures.
Attorneys said Monday the Sweatts live on a five-acre parcel of land. Vincent Lyons presented to commissioners the settlement plan, which sought to lift the dangerous dog classification as well as the dog’s restrictions around children, while relieving the Sweatts of their obligation to build an enclosure for Bacchus, county reports show. The proposal also offered to have Bacchus undergo professional training.
Geri Westfall, Rickey’s mother, submitted a letter to county commissioners, describing the proposed settlement as a “joke” and Bacchus as a menace to the community. Westfall no longer lives in the neighborhood where the attack occurred.
“This is a totally unpredictable dog with an aggressive streak,” she wrote. “It is a shame that my son and all my former neighbors can’t feel safe in their own community.”
Dennis Bayer, who represented the Westfalls during the pre-appeal proceedings, said the proposal does not specify what type or the qualifications of training that Bacchus would undergo and does not require the Sweatts to insure the dog to pay for medical bills if Bacchus bit another person. Bayer also contended Bacchus should be muzzled whenever he’s outside the home because he’s escaped from the Sweatts’ fenced-in property in the past.
Commissioner Frank Meeker suggested the proposal call for a tethering device to leash the dog and prevent him from escaping. Commissioner George Hanns, however, said he was troubled by the viciousness of Bacchus’ attack on Rickey, and still felt the dog was a danger to society.
County officials said Lyons’ appeals motion will likely proceed back to the jurisdiction of Flagler County courts where it was originally filed.
(Daytona Beach News-Journal - Dec 21, 2015)
Earlier:
- Boy's mom wants dog that bit him to be declared dangerous
- Boy, 8, describes dog attack to hearing officer
- Dog Bites 8-Year-Old Boy: Should It be Declared Dangerous, Or Does Castle Doctrine Apply? County Commission Will Decide.
- County Declares Dangerous Dog That Bit 8-Year-Old Boy, Rejecting More Clement Recommendation
- UPDATE: County attorneys EXPECTED TO cave and remove nearly all previously ordered restrictions on vicious dog
This is good news -- county commissioners who put the safety of us and our children above the entitlement of owners of a vicious dog. Wow!
ReplyDeleteThese Sweatts scum must anticipate that this dog will attack again. That's why they're so anxious to have the dangerous dog designation removed. They want their vicious dog to be able to attack again without ending up put down.