Saturday, September 2, 2017

Florida: Why won't authorities seize Pit Bull that has, at last count, attacked three people on three different occasions?

FLORIDA -- LuLu the pit bull mix which attacked a neighbor last week also is accused of attacking two other people in the past year.

Because her behavior indicates a pattern of posing a danger to others, animal control officials have begun the process of having her deemed a “dangerous dog.”

Hmm, I guess animal control didn't think it was vicious after it attacked its first victim? I guess animal control didn't think it was vicious after it attacked its second victim?


Even alligators look peaceful when sleeping.


Its owner can fight the designation, but if she chooses to keep her pet she must adhere to strict guidelines to house the animal.

The Pit Bull is still in custody at the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. It is up to date on its shots, according to officials.

In the meantime, the most recent victim, JJ Howell, continues to recover from the attack last Friday outside her home on Hickory Street in Sylvania Heights.

 
 

She was relieved to learn that two other victims had positively identified LuLu as the dog that attacked them. One of the victims was bitten last October and the other was bitten early this summer.

Howell said she hopes that means the dog will never return.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Howell, who added that the sight of any loose dog now makes her nervous.

She said she’d like to move but has nowhere else to go. She said she’d at least like to walk the few steps from her car to her home without worrying.

“It was not a bite,” she said of last week’s incident, which left her with four puncture wounds. “It was an attack.”

Three attacks in less than a year? Why is it even an option that this dog ever be allowed to leave the shelter alive??

The other question is: Why won't Okaloosa County, Florida, enforce their own dangerous dog laws? Why wasn't this Pit Bull deemed dangerous after Victim #1 was attacked? Why wasn't this Pit Bull deemed dangerous after Victim #2 was attacked?

Okaloosa County, Florida
Sec. 5-27. - Dangerous dogs.

(a) The county adopts and incorporates herein by reference Chapter 767, Sections 767.10, 767.11, 767.12, 767.13, 767.14, et seq., Florida Statutes, and any amendments thereto, concerning the designation, regulation and control of dangerous dogs.

(b) The fee for the issuance of certificates of registration of dangerous dogs and each annual renewal thereof shall be $100.00.

(c) The animal control agency shall promulgate appeal procedures by which the owner of a dog classified as dangerous may appeal such classification, which procedures shall be approved by the board of county commissioners by resolution. The animal control agency shall provide written notification of the appeal procedures to the owner of a dog to be classified as dangerous, by certified mail or certified hand delivery.

(d) The owner of a dog classified as dangerous must confine the dog in a securely fenced or enclosed area pending resolution of any appeal. If the owner fails to confine the animal, it shall be seized by the animal control agency and impounded in the animal shelter at the owner's expense pending resolution of the appeal.

(Ord. No. 92-25, § 7, 11-3-92)

(The Northwest Florida Daily News - August 31, 2017)

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