Disgruntled couple awarded $240,000 from neighbor in DOG BARKING lawsuit after claiming the Tibetan mastiffs caused them a decade of unrest

OREGON -- Fed up of your neighbor's dog barking?

It seems you could be in for a windfall.

A couple in Oregon have been awarded $240,000 compensation for more than a decade of disquiet.
Dale and Debra Krein of Rogue River filed a suit in 2012 against their neighbors and their giant Tibetan mastiffs.

Finally, after three years of proceedings, a jury has ruled in favor of the disgruntled Oregonians, ordering for the canines to be debarked within 60 days.

John Updegraff and Karen Szewc have been ordered to pay
$240,000 to their neighbors after a jury found their dogs have
 been too disruptive since 2002. They tried to argue they
needed the dogs for livestock

The Kreins claimed their lives have been plagued by the noise since the defendants, John Updegraff and Karen Szewc, started breeding dogs in 2002.

According to the Mail Tribune, the canines would routinely bark until 5am and throughout the day outside the property just 300 feet from the Kreins.

This continued, they told the court, despite the fact that Updegraff and Szewc were cited by Jackson County Animal Control in 2002 and 2004 for violating public nuisance codes.

The defendants attempted to argue that the mastiffs were needed to protect their livestock.

However, on Thursday a judge at Jackson County Circuit Court ruled the animals were not suited to the role.

(Daily Mail - April 16, 2015)

Woman, 53, seriously injured after dog attack

CANADA -- The Ministry of Labour is investigating after a woman suffered serious injuries when she was attacked by a Tibetan mastiff at a Manvers Township dog kennel Tuesday (Aug. 13).

Kawartha Lakes OPP responded to the call, along with paramedics, City of Kawartha Lakes bylaw representatives and the Ministry of Labour to the Tibetan Majestic Mastiffs International on Ski Hill Road.

Upon arrival, OPP say they learned that a 53-year-old woman, an employee at the kennel, was taken to Ross Memorial Hospital by ambulance.

Manager of municipal law enforcement Gord Garfield told This Week that the animal weighs roughly 220 lbs.  Generally, in the case of a dog attack, he says enforcement officers are brought in to investigate. Depending on the severity of the attack, as well as the dog’s history of attacks, law enforcement officers have the authority to charge the owner of the dog, issue an order to restrain or, for less severe attacks, simply warn the dog owner.

But in this case, Mr. Garfield says municipal law enforcement officers have not been brought in to seize the dog, because the attack happened at a licensed kennel and the injured woman was an employee of the business. Instead, the Ministry of Labour was brought in to investigate.

“I’ve never had this happen here,” he says. “This is completely different.”

Mr. Garfield says the animal is remaining in its kennel on the property until the Ministry concludes its investigation.”

When contacted by This Week, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Labour confirmed the investigation is ongoing.

(Kawartha Media Group - Aug 14, 2013)

Tibetan mastiff kills six-year-old girl

CHINA -- Police said Friday that they have detained a man after the dog he raised fatally bit a toddler in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The man's Tibetan mastiff bit the neck of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl surnamed Li around 7 p.m. on Thursday near a grocery store in the city's high-tech zone, according to a police officer with the city's public security bureau.

Li's mother, who took her daughter to the store to buy drinking water, and others used bricks and sticks to get the dog away from the girl. She then took her daughter to a local hospital, where she died, said the officer.

The dog's owner, a man surnamed Bi, illegally raised the Tibetan mastiff since April 2012. He has been detained for negligent homicide, and police have taken the mastiff to a dog pound.

Also on Thursday, a male mastiff freed itself from its chains and attacked two passersby, a man and a woman, in Beijing's Pinggu District. The attack happened around 9 a.m., when the dog's owner had the mastiff chained up outside so he could clean the doghouse. The woman sustained injuries to her back and leg, and the dog bit the man in his arm and shoulder, according to the district's public security bureau.

On June 15, police in the city of Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, shot dead a Tibetan mastiff as it attacked a 52-year-old man surnamed Wang. Wang's injuries were not life threatening.

According to China Central Television, video surveillance footage from June 3 showed a Tibetan mastiff tackle a little girl playing on the side of the road in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. The dog bit her and did not release her until a passerby hit it with a motorcycle and two sticks. After surgery, the girl's thigh injuries were not life threatening.

The Tibetan mastiff is a large dog, which can be as tall as 32 inches and weigh up to 180 pounds.

They can be aggressive. In recent years, because it is quite rare and expensive to buy, Tibetan mastiffs have become a popular pet for many rich Chinese. The dogs have also been smuggled into Hong Kong for wealthy buyers.

Cases of ferocious attacks by large dogs have been frequently reported in China, although raising these sorts of dogs are banned in many cities.

(scmp.com - June 28, 2013)

Judge says barking Marshfield dogs must find new home

MASSACHUSETTS -- A Marshfield couple found they were barking up the wrong tree after they tried to overturn a decision by selectmen forcing them to get rid of their five Tibetan mastiffs.

A Plymouth District Court magistrate judge denied a request for relief from the board’s order made by Steven and Susana Griffin, of 147 Telegraph Hill Road, at a June 13 hearing.

“They couldn’t prove that (the order) was made in bad faith,” said Town Manager Rocco Longo of the ruling.

The decision affirms the selectmen’s April orders for the Griffins to find a new home for the Tibetan mastiffs – animals historically kept as guard dogs – because they were unable to control their loud, incessant barking.

The board first heard neighbors’ complaints about the dogs at a December 2011 hearing and ordered the couple to abide by eight conditions, including making the dogs wear bark collars, limiting their time spent outdoors and installing a higher fence.

At the April 8 selectmen’s meeting, Marshfield police Chief Phil Tavares said his department had received numerous complaints from neighbors since those orders were put in place, and that seven of those eight orders had been violated.

The Griffins have 10 days to appeal the decision.

(The Patriot Ledger - Jun 19, 2013)

Two Tibetan Mastiffs euthanized after one bit police officer

Owners fined a total of $3,250

CANADA -- Two Tibetan Mastiffs that drew complaints in the community of Martindale, and snapped at responding officers before one of the canines bit a sergeant last month, have been euthanized, the city said Thursday.

The dogs were put down May 13 after a behavioural assessment determined they were too aggressive to be adopted out to a new home, said Alvin Murray, manager of operations with animal and bylaw services.

“Their aggression was too profound,” Murray said.

City of Calgary bylaw officers restrain a pair of Tibetan Mastiffs
which were running loose in Martindale on April 9.
Photograph by: Herald files , Global News

The dogs’ owners — who were each slapped with numerous charges — were also fined a total of $3,250, a “fairly substantial” penalty, Murray added.

Police and bylaw officers were called to the 200 block of Martindale Boulevard N.E. at around 10:30 a.m. April 9 after reports of two large dogs at large not far from the yard of Ecole La Mosaique, where schoolchildren were playing.

Those students were quickly ushered inside and kept indoors for a portion of their lunch hour, as were students at a nearby school.

Officers caught up to the dogs at the Martindale LRT station train tracks and used Tasers to capture the animals.

One of the dogs bit a police officer in the leg, leaving three puncture wounds, but he was not seriously injured and did not need to go to hospital.

Both dogs were licensed, and one was wearing a dog tag.

Following the incident, the owners voluntarily signed over the dogs to the city. The canines were kept at a bylaw facility for a 10-day quarantine period, then underwent a behavioural assessment.

Murray said the decision to put down the dogs was not made lightly. But this wasn’t the first biting incident involving the animals, he added.

The Tibetan Mastiffs bit someone April 7, which resulted in charges for the owners. That file was still under investigation when the animals got out two days later.

Prior to the April 7 incident, the dogs did not have a history of aggression.

“We really have to get the message out that we’re not going to tolerate people’s aggressive dogs running around, scaring people, biting people and creating havoc,” Murray said.

“It’s the responsibility of dog owners to make sure their dogs are well-socialized, well-trained, and that their yards are secure so they can’t escape.”

He encourages people who own dogs with aggression issues to seek help from a certified trainer.

Those who witness animal aggression or animals at large are urged to call 311, or 911 if there is a public safety risk or injuries involved.

(calgaryherald.com - May 30, 2013)

Earlier:

• Dogs Tasered after biting cop and school principal in Calgary

Dogs Tasered after biting cop and school principal in Calgary

CANADA -- Calgary police officers, including a sergeant who suffered a bite to the leg, were forced to use Tasers to capture two female Tibetan mastiffs running loose Tuesday morning near a northeast elementary school.

“They were Tasered ... to take them into custody as a use of force option, the least amount of force available to our officers to safely get the dogs under control,” said duty Staff Sgt. Jay Judin.

 

Police and bylaw officers were called to the 200 block of Martindale Boulevard N.E. at around 10:30 a.m. after receiving reports of two dogs at large.

One call was from a woman who was charged by the dogs and called police from a nearby residence. Another was from the principal of Ecole La Mosaique, who quickly ushered his students back into the school before contacting police, Judin said.

As lunch time was nearing, the elementary school and a second school in the area were advised to keep students indoors while officers tended to the animals, he added.

Armed with poles with snares at the end, officers tracked the dogs to the train tracks at the Martindale LRT station, with members positioned on each side of the tracks so the dogs could not escape.

“The dogs were growling and snapping at officers,” Judin said.

For two to three blocks, the officers followed the dogs northeast along the tracks until one officer deployed a Taser to capture one of the animals, Judin said.

At that point, the second dog lunged and bit the thigh of a police officer, leaving three puncture wounds. That dog was subsequently zapped with a Taser and restrained.

By 12:15 p.m., animal and bylaw services had both animals in custody.

 

EMS spokesman Adam Loria said the officer was treated at the scene for minor injuries but did not need to be sent to hospital.

Doug Anderson, animal and bylaw services operations co-ordinator, said both Tibetan mastiffs were licensed and at least one of them was wearing a dog tag at the time.

He said an assessment will be conducted to look into the animals’ behaviour and history, and a dangerous dog hearing could be called. Charges are also pending against the owners.If a mandatory court date is ordered, the dogs will remain in the care of animal and bylaw services until then, he added.

Anderson said there is a current ongoing investigation involving the dogs regarding an incident within the past week.

(calgaryherald.com - April 9, 2013)