Christa Wilde followed through on charges against Amber Calo for owning the animal that seriously injured her dog outside her home on June 22. She just didn’t expect at the end of the criminal case that Gringa, the 2-year-old female pit bull that attacked unprovoked, would stay her neighbor.
Calo was recently sentenced to four months of probation after pleading guilty to one count of owning a vicious animal last month, court records show. She was allowed to keep Gringa, but was ordered to keep her penned while unattended inside her home and to have the dog muzzled anytime she’s outdoors. Her case will be reviewed in January.
Calo voluntarily covered the veterinary bills for Dolly, the 7-year-old beagle mix that was hospitalized overnight with several wounds, reports said. District Judge Richard Conlin also ordered her to pay fines that were not specified in court documents.
However, Wilde said she thought Calo’s dog would be considered dangerous and thus prohibited by Saline’s municipal code.
“I cannot express how disappointed I am with the ruling,” she wrote in e-mail. “Gringa has attacked my dog twice since April of this year. I thought that I was protecting my family and my dog by documenting the attacks with the police.”
In an earlier interview with AnnArbor.com, Calo said she intended to move Gringa to a friend’s home in Ann Arbor. Calo declined to comment for this story, and it's unclear whether that ever happened.
Wilde said Gringa remains in her neighborhood and is often at the forefront of her children’s minds when they pull into their driveway or get ready to play outdoors. She and Calo are next door neighbors in a complex of attached condominiums.
“Still, my daughters wait for me to go outside to make sure that Gringa is not out, to give an ‘all clear’ sign before we go out to play,” she said. “Physically, Dolly is okay, but she has become nervous and fearful since the attack.”
(AnnArbor.com - Oct 4, 2010)
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