ILLINOIS -- A cat set on fire in a July incident that led to criminal charges against four Indiana University students has died after $30,000 in veterinary treatment.
Police say the students used flammable liquid to set at least four neighborhood cats on fire, including Olivia, the animal who died this week after more than 11 weeks of skin grafts and other treatment.
The 6-year-old cat owned by Lesley Davis and Matt Murphy was burned over 40 percent of its body July 25.
Had they known the ordeal would be so painful and difficult for them and for the cat, they would have had Olivia [euthanized immediately], Murphy said. He estimated that $18,000 to $20,000 of the approximately $30,000 spent on the cat came from donations.
(Chicago Tribune - October 15, 1997)
Thursday, October 16, 1997
Sunday, May 25, 1997
Pennsylvania: Woman Is Mauled In Pit Bull Attack. A Firefighter Who Heard Her Screams Shot One Of The Dogs
PENNSYLVANIA -- A 51-year-old woman was savagely mauled by two pit bulls on the streets of Norristown early yesterday and was saved only when a volunteer firefighter who lives nearby shot one of the dogs.
Mary Garrett of Pottstown was listed in serious condition yesterday at Allegheny University Hospitals/Hahnemann with numerous severe bites and gouges on her head, arms, legs, face and chest. Police said Garrett was attacked about 1:30 a.m. while she walked in the 600 block of Swede Street.
"This is one of the worst attacks we have ever had,'' said Norristown Police Chief Thomas Stone. "This woman had to be flown out of here by a helicopter. This was not like a dog nipping at the postman.''
Stone said Garrett spent her first 12 hours at Hahnemann in the intensive care unit.
Police said they had been unable to determine who owned the dogs.
Reached by telephone in her hospital room yesterday, Garrett said she was too weak to talk about the incident.
"I don't feel like talking,'' she said. "The damage is done. There is nothing I can do about it now.''
Norristown has experienced problems with Pit Bulls, Dobermans and Rottweilers for several years. Police say drug dealers use the dogs for protection, and they describe illegal dog fights as common. They also say dog attacks increase dramatically as the weather grows warmer.
The mauling prompted community leaders and business people in Norristown to renew their pleas for the borough to put an end to what they say is an alarming abundance of untethered, vicious dogs roaming the streets.
"It's mostly drug dealers who use these dogs for protection and for threat,'' said Dana Davis, the owner of B&H Groceries, around the corner from where the attack occurred. "Next to a gun, you got a pit bull. These young men need to stop walking through our streets with pit bulls unleashed and unlicensed.''
Ernest Webb, 49, a construction worker and volunteer Norristown firefighter, said he was watching TV early yesterday when he heard a woman scream.
"I looked out the window and saw a woman running up the street and saw two dogs running after her,'' Webb said. "The lady was hollering, 'Help me.' ''
Webb said he grabbed his licensed .380-caliber double-action pistol and raced outside. By the time he got across the street, he said, "the dogs had the woman on the ground. They were tearing her clothes off. I saw nothing but blood flying. It was a horrible sight to see.''
When one of the dogs let the woman loose and came after him, Webb said, "I plugged him with my .380. I knew I hit him. He jumped into the air and started yelping.''
Both dogs then fled.
"I ran over to try to help her,'' Webb said. "I told her, 'Don't move until the police get here.' ''
Danielle White, 21, said the commotion drew her from her home to her neighbor's cement steps, where she saw two pit bulls, one white and one brown, mauling Garrett. She said she rushed inside to call police and returned after Webb had shot one of the dogs.
After the attack, Garrett was sitting on her neighbor's porch, White said, her clothes ripped from her body. "She was bleeding everywhere.''
The white dog involved in the attack was captured by police about 4:30 a.m. after police received calls about a dog in distress.
Stone said the dog had what appeared to be a fresh graze wound on its leg. He said the dog was being held at an animal shelter. Authorities were deciding whether to test the animal for rabies.
The police chief said the other dog had not been located as of early yesterday evening. Nor had the owner or owners of the dogs. He said the white dog appeared to be well-cared for and was not malnourished.
"If we could establish an owner, we could probably file charges,'' Stone said. "But I think the chances of that are very slim.''
Stone said he had not determined why Garrett was attacked. He also said he was not certain why she was out on the street.
"We don't know if they were sicced on her, or what,'' Stone said. "She was not in a good condition to talk with.''
He credited Webb with saving Garrett's life.
"If it wasn't for him, this probably would have been an extremely tragic event,'' Stone said. "Ernest Webb probably saved her from fatal injuries.''
Paula Robinson, director of the Norristown Neighborhood Association, said the block on which the attack occurred is "one of the worst blocks in the town'' for drugs and other criminal activity.
"It has gotten to be extremely bad,'' she said. "Some of our members have had to move out of there because it just isn't safe anymore.''
Robinson said she would push the borough to do something about the dog problem.
"I am not against all dogs,'' she said. ''My niece was bit by a pit bull. Vicious dogs should not be roaming the streets freely.''
Stone said the borough has often discussed banning certain animals but never passed any legislation.
"It is difficult to do unless by ordinance you can specifically ban pit bulls, which is something I am certainly not opposed to,'' Stone said. "We've had a lot of problems and it surfaces more in the summertime. These dogs are not used in Norristown as house pets.''
Organized pit bull fights in which spectators gamble on the outcome are common in Norristown, Stone said.
"We see a lot of pit bull fights,'' he said. "We see people in the neighborhoods swing the dogs from tree limbs by their teeth to strengthen the jaws. They put thick wraps of chain around their necks just to strengthen the neck.''
(Philly.com - May 24, 1997)
Mary Garrett of Pottstown was listed in serious condition yesterday at Allegheny University Hospitals/Hahnemann with numerous severe bites and gouges on her head, arms, legs, face and chest. Police said Garrett was attacked about 1:30 a.m. while she walked in the 600 block of Swede Street.
"This is one of the worst attacks we have ever had,'' said Norristown Police Chief Thomas Stone. "This woman had to be flown out of here by a helicopter. This was not like a dog nipping at the postman.''
Stone said Garrett spent her first 12 hours at Hahnemann in the intensive care unit.
Police said they had been unable to determine who owned the dogs.
Reached by telephone in her hospital room yesterday, Garrett said she was too weak to talk about the incident.
"I don't feel like talking,'' she said. "The damage is done. There is nothing I can do about it now.''
Norristown has experienced problems with Pit Bulls, Dobermans and Rottweilers for several years. Police say drug dealers use the dogs for protection, and they describe illegal dog fights as common. They also say dog attacks increase dramatically as the weather grows warmer.
The mauling prompted community leaders and business people in Norristown to renew their pleas for the borough to put an end to what they say is an alarming abundance of untethered, vicious dogs roaming the streets.
"It's mostly drug dealers who use these dogs for protection and for threat,'' said Dana Davis, the owner of B&H Groceries, around the corner from where the attack occurred. "Next to a gun, you got a pit bull. These young men need to stop walking through our streets with pit bulls unleashed and unlicensed.''
Ernest Webb, 49, a construction worker and volunteer Norristown firefighter, said he was watching TV early yesterday when he heard a woman scream.
"I looked out the window and saw a woman running up the street and saw two dogs running after her,'' Webb said. "The lady was hollering, 'Help me.' ''
Webb said he grabbed his licensed .380-caliber double-action pistol and raced outside. By the time he got across the street, he said, "the dogs had the woman on the ground. They were tearing her clothes off. I saw nothing but blood flying. It was a horrible sight to see.''
When one of the dogs let the woman loose and came after him, Webb said, "I plugged him with my .380. I knew I hit him. He jumped into the air and started yelping.''
Both dogs then fled.
"I ran over to try to help her,'' Webb said. "I told her, 'Don't move until the police get here.' ''
Danielle White, 21, said the commotion drew her from her home to her neighbor's cement steps, where she saw two pit bulls, one white and one brown, mauling Garrett. She said she rushed inside to call police and returned after Webb had shot one of the dogs.
After the attack, Garrett was sitting on her neighbor's porch, White said, her clothes ripped from her body. "She was bleeding everywhere.''
The white dog involved in the attack was captured by police about 4:30 a.m. after police received calls about a dog in distress.
Stone said the dog had what appeared to be a fresh graze wound on its leg. He said the dog was being held at an animal shelter. Authorities were deciding whether to test the animal for rabies.
The police chief said the other dog had not been located as of early yesterday evening. Nor had the owner or owners of the dogs. He said the white dog appeared to be well-cared for and was not malnourished.
"If we could establish an owner, we could probably file charges,'' Stone said. "But I think the chances of that are very slim.''
Stone said he had not determined why Garrett was attacked. He also said he was not certain why she was out on the street.
"We don't know if they were sicced on her, or what,'' Stone said. "She was not in a good condition to talk with.''
He credited Webb with saving Garrett's life.
"If it wasn't for him, this probably would have been an extremely tragic event,'' Stone said. "Ernest Webb probably saved her from fatal injuries.''
Paula Robinson, director of the Norristown Neighborhood Association, said the block on which the attack occurred is "one of the worst blocks in the town'' for drugs and other criminal activity.
"It has gotten to be extremely bad,'' she said. "Some of our members have had to move out of there because it just isn't safe anymore.''
Robinson said she would push the borough to do something about the dog problem.
"I am not against all dogs,'' she said. ''My niece was bit by a pit bull. Vicious dogs should not be roaming the streets freely.''
Stone said the borough has often discussed banning certain animals but never passed any legislation.
"It is difficult to do unless by ordinance you can specifically ban pit bulls, which is something I am certainly not opposed to,'' Stone said. "We've had a lot of problems and it surfaces more in the summertime. These dogs are not used in Norristown as house pets.''
Organized pit bull fights in which spectators gamble on the outcome are common in Norristown, Stone said.
"We see a lot of pit bull fights,'' he said. "We see people in the neighborhoods swing the dogs from tree limbs by their teeth to strengthen the jaws. They put thick wraps of chain around their necks just to strengthen the neck.''
(Philly.com - May 24, 1997)
Saturday, April 26, 1997
Kansas: Frenzied Rottweilers chase, attack and kill Kansas boy, 11
KANSAS --Three crazed Rottweilers fatally mauled an 11-year-old Kansas boy yesterday as he tried to board a school bus while his classmates watched in horror.
The large dogs set upon Christopher Wilson and his 8-year-old brother, Terrell, as they were about to get on the bus in rural Milford, police said. The terrified boys climbed a nearby tree as bus driver Kathy Roberg honked her horn in a frantic bid to scare off the frenzied dogs, witnesses said.
Christopher tried to make a run for the bus, but the dogs pulled him down as Terrell screamed hysterically in the tree, police said. Sixteen pupils from Milford Elementary School watched from the bus. It was quick and brutal.
"They killed him, and then they just sat there over their prey," Jeannette Day, a neighbor who ran outside and saw the end of the attack, told the Daily News. "It was like they were gloating. "The lady in the school bus was just sitting there, laying on the horn. There was nothing else she could do."
A police car arrived, and the officers opened fire, killing two of the dogs, Day said. The third dog was on the lam last night, pursued by the Kansas Highway Patrol, local police, state animal control officers, military police from nearby Fort Riley even a military helicopter.
"I've never seen anything like this in all my law enforcement years," James Jensen of the Geary County Sheriff's Department said as he fought back tears.
"With Rottweilers, once they get the taste for blood, there's nothing you can do," said Tonya McCaully, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
The boys' father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Wilson of Fort Riley, was flying home last night from Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he is part of the peacekeeping mission.
The dogs' owners, Jeffrey Davidson, 41, and his wife, Sabine Davidson, 26, were arrested and accused of involuntary manslaughter by Geary County prosecutors. Neighbors said the dogs, which were kept outside, were always barking and that some residents feared them.
Social workers were offering counseling to Milford Elementary School students, said Superintendent Mary Devin.
(NY Daily News - April 25, 1997)
The large dogs set upon Christopher Wilson and his 8-year-old brother, Terrell, as they were about to get on the bus in rural Milford, police said. The terrified boys climbed a nearby tree as bus driver Kathy Roberg honked her horn in a frantic bid to scare off the frenzied dogs, witnesses said.
Christopher tried to make a run for the bus, but the dogs pulled him down as Terrell screamed hysterically in the tree, police said. Sixteen pupils from Milford Elementary School watched from the bus. It was quick and brutal.
A police car arrived, and the officers opened fire, killing two of the dogs, Day said. The third dog was on the lam last night, pursued by the Kansas Highway Patrol, local police, state animal control officers, military police from nearby Fort Riley even a military helicopter.
"I've never seen anything like this in all my law enforcement years," James Jensen of the Geary County Sheriff's Department said as he fought back tears.
"With Rottweilers, once they get the taste for blood, there's nothing you can do," said Tonya McCaully, a sheriff's spokeswoman.
The boys' father, Army Sgt. 1st Class Brian Wilson of Fort Riley, was flying home last night from Bosnia-Herzegovina, where he is part of the peacekeeping mission.
The dogs' owners, Jeffrey Davidson, 41, and his wife, Sabine Davidson, 26, were arrested and accused of involuntary manslaughter by Geary County prosecutors. Neighbors said the dogs, which were kept outside, were always barking and that some residents feared them.
Social workers were offering counseling to Milford Elementary School students, said Superintendent Mary Devin.
(NY Daily News - April 25, 1997)
Tuesday, January 14, 1997
Oklahoma: Samuel Frazier, 21, given 3 years probation for dog fighting (animal cruelty)
Offender: Samuel J. Frazier
Alias: Sam Frazier, Sammy Frazier
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Weight: 170 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birth Date: 9/29/1975
Age at conviction: 21
OK DOC#: 244286
#1
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: INSTIGATING OR ENCOURAGING DOGFIGHT (ANIMAL CRUELTY)
Conviction date: 1/13/1997
Term: 3 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 5/7/1996
#2
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: ASSAULT &/OR BATTERY W/DEADLY WEAPON
Conviction date: 4/29/1996
Term: 5 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 5/7/1996
Sentenced ended: 5/6/2001
Alias: Sam Frazier, Sammy Frazier
Gender: Male
Race: Black
Height: 5 ft 8 in
Weight: 170 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Birth Date: 9/29/1975
Age at conviction: 21
OK DOC#: 244286
#1
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: INSTIGATING OR ENCOURAGING DOGFIGHT (ANIMAL CRUELTY)
Conviction date: 1/13/1997
Term: 3 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 5/7/1996
#2
Court: CUSTER COUNTY COURT
Offense: ASSAULT &/OR BATTERY W/DEADLY WEAPON
Conviction date: 4/29/1996
Term: 5 Years
Term code: Probation
Sentence begins: 5/7/1996
Sentenced ended: 5/6/2001
Sunday, January 12, 1997
Georgia: Oliver Batiste, convicted of bestiality, is released from prison after serving less than 4 months
NAME: OLIVER BATISTE
YOB: 1964
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 0'00''
WEIGHT: 000
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK
GDC ID: 0000893811
MAJOR OFFENSE: BESTIALITY
STATE OF GEORGIA DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
CASE NO: 364629
OFFENSE: BESTIALITY
CONVICTION COUNTY: COBB COUNTY
CRIME COMMIT DATE: 01/13/1996
SENTENCE LENGTH: 1 YEARS, 48 MONTHS, 0 DAYS
INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: 01/11/1997
ACTUAL RELEASE DATE: 01/11/1997
YOB: 1964
RACE: BLACK
GENDER: MALE
HEIGHT: 0'00''
WEIGHT: 000
EYE COLOR: BROWN
HAIR COLOR: BLACK
GDC ID: 0000893811
MAJOR OFFENSE: BESTIALITY
STATE OF GEORGIA DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
CASE NO: 364629
OFFENSE: BESTIALITY
CONVICTION COUNTY: COBB COUNTY
CRIME COMMIT DATE: 01/13/1996
SENTENCE LENGTH: 1 YEARS, 48 MONTHS, 0 DAYS
INSTITUTION: GA DIAG CLASS PRISON
MAX POSSIBLE RELEASE DATE: 01/11/1997
ACTUAL RELEASE DATE: 01/11/1997
Sunday, July 28, 1996
California: Puppy mill breeder/hoarder Emma Harter, 64, avoids jail by hiding most of her 40 Chihuahuas
CALIFORNIA -- An Acton woman convicted of operating an illegal kennel for about 40 Chihuahuas that share her home avoided jail Friday after complying with a court order to get rid of all but four of her dogs.
Emma Harter, a 64-year-old retired school cafeteria manager, had been ordered by Antelope Municipal Court Judge Howard Swart to remove the dogs after she violated her probation by failing to build a shelter to house the tiny canines rather than keep them in her home.
"It's sad when people can't cooperate with well-meaning and appropriate people with animal control who are just doing their job," said Deputy District Attorney John Evans.
Swart two weeks ago ordered Harter to remove all but four of her dogs or spend a month in jail. Swart ruled that Harter would be allowed to keep three dogs - four if they are spayed and neutered.
Animal Control Officer Jerry White had informed Evans that as of Thursday, Harter still had more than four dogs on her property. White told Evans that he observed 15 dogs outside and heard more dogs inside the home, Evans said.
But Harter appeared in court Friday and said she had only four dogs, Evans said.
She didn't "get rid" of these dogs. She merely moved them somewhere else - probably stuffed them into a hot shed somewhere.
Swart warned her that animal control officers can enter her property anytime during the next 2-1/2 years remaining on her three years' probation, and if there are more than four dogs, she will be sent to jail and the dogs will be confiscated, Evans said.
Harter could be not reached Friday for comment.
Harter received a suspended sentence in December of up to 180 days in jail and was ordered by Swart to erect a building. Swart also placed her on probation for three years and ordered her to pay a fine of $1,490 or work 16 days of community service.
In a March hearing, Harter avoided jail when Swart decided to give her more time to erect the shelter.
Harter raised Chihuahuas and sold them for $250 to $1,500.
She contended that the case stemmed from neighbors around her who didn't like her dogs and complained about their barking. Charges were filed in June 1995 after Harter failed to comply with conditions set forth for a kennel license, animal control officials said.
Animal control officers said they had been going once or twice a month to talk with Harter in response to neighbors' complaints about noisy dogs. Neighbors started circulating a petition to protest the barking.
EMMA HARTER WAS HOARDING DOGS AS FAR BACK AS 1982
Harter said she began breeding Chihuahuas in 1982 when she was living in Granada Hills, where she got into similar troubles with Los Angeles city animal control officials.
She then moved to Acton in 1992 and obtained a kennel license.
(LA Daily News - July 27, 1996)
Emma Harter, a 64-year-old retired school cafeteria manager, had been ordered by Antelope Municipal Court Judge Howard Swart to remove the dogs after she violated her probation by failing to build a shelter to house the tiny canines rather than keep them in her home.
"It's sad when people can't cooperate with well-meaning and appropriate people with animal control who are just doing their job," said Deputy District Attorney John Evans.
Swart two weeks ago ordered Harter to remove all but four of her dogs or spend a month in jail. Swart ruled that Harter would be allowed to keep three dogs - four if they are spayed and neutered.
Animal Control Officer Jerry White had informed Evans that as of Thursday, Harter still had more than four dogs on her property. White told Evans that he observed 15 dogs outside and heard more dogs inside the home, Evans said.
But Harter appeared in court Friday and said she had only four dogs, Evans said.
She didn't "get rid" of these dogs. She merely moved them somewhere else - probably stuffed them into a hot shed somewhere.
Swart warned her that animal control officers can enter her property anytime during the next 2-1/2 years remaining on her three years' probation, and if there are more than four dogs, she will be sent to jail and the dogs will be confiscated, Evans said.
Harter could be not reached Friday for comment.
Harter received a suspended sentence in December of up to 180 days in jail and was ordered by Swart to erect a building. Swart also placed her on probation for three years and ordered her to pay a fine of $1,490 or work 16 days of community service.
In a March hearing, Harter avoided jail when Swart decided to give her more time to erect the shelter.
Harter raised Chihuahuas and sold them for $250 to $1,500.
She contended that the case stemmed from neighbors around her who didn't like her dogs and complained about their barking. Charges were filed in June 1995 after Harter failed to comply with conditions set forth for a kennel license, animal control officials said.
Animal control officers said they had been going once or twice a month to talk with Harter in response to neighbors' complaints about noisy dogs. Neighbors started circulating a petition to protest the barking.
EMMA HARTER WAS HOARDING DOGS AS FAR BACK AS 1982
Harter said she began breeding Chihuahuas in 1982 when she was living in Granada Hills, where she got into similar troubles with Los Angeles city animal control officials.
She then moved to Acton in 1992 and obtained a kennel license.
(LA Daily News - July 27, 1996)
Wednesday, June 26, 1996
Virginia: Clarence Hacker could be facing charges after his WOLF HYBRIDS attack 13 pets, killing four
VIRGINIA -- Two large mixed breed dogs now face the death penalty after they went on a rampage through a Denbigh neighborhood Sunday, jumping fences from back yard to back yard in search of other dogs to fight, say animal control officials.
Four pet dogs were killed outright, and at least nine more were severely mauled, say officials and pet owners, some of whom went through Beechmont with loaded weapons until the dogs were captured by SPCA controllers Sunday morning.
The dogs - initially identified as wolf-German shepherd hybrids and now thought to be shepherds mixed with either husky or malalmute - are in quarantine at the Peninsula Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said SPCA director Gene Falls.
The dogs' owner, Clarence E. Hacker who lives at 323 De Laura Drive, may face a charge of allowing vicious dogs to run loose, a misdemeanor that carries up to a $1,000 fine and destruction of the dogs, if a judge orders it, Falls said.
Pets were attacked in back yards in a one-mile area around Epes Elementary School, Falls said.
Faye Hipps was making breakfast in her house on Catalina Drive at about 8:20 a.m. when she saw an odd movement in her garden. She said she went outside in time to see "two dogs mauling my dog," a 2-year-old, 30-pound spaniel mix named Shadow.
She apparently scared the bigger dogs, who jumped Hipps' four-foot fence into a neighbor's yard. As her husband and two of her three children jumped in their truck to try to follow the dogs, Hipps went to help Shadow, who was bleeding from severe lacerations to both shoulders.
The dogs apparently made their way back toward the elementary school and jumped Boyd and Eunice Williams' backyard fence on Alta Crescent just before 9 a.m.
Eunice Williams had just fed the family cat out on the sun porch and was preparing food for their two dogs, Winnie, a 3-year-old, 30-pound Welsh terrier mix, and Pookie, a 13-year-old, 9 1/2-pound gray poodle mix.
Williams said she was about to take a dog dish out to Pookie, who was barking at the porch door to be let in. Eunice Williams said she turned away for a minute; when she turned back, "all of the sudden she wasn't there."
She went into the back yard and saw two large dogs, who jumped the fence as soon as she came outside. "I didn't see my little Pookie. I looked around. She was lying in the grass, dead."
Winnie was also bitten in the neck, but apparently escaped the two dogs by running into the garage through a small dog door.
Boyd Williams went after the two dogs and found a neighbor across the street beating the dogs with a wooden 2-by-4 as they tried to attack his Labrador retriever. The dogs ran away, and both men began searching the neighborhood.
As they searched, they ran into others who also were looking for the dogs, some armed with loaded shotguns, Williams said. By then, five SPCA dog wardens and at least five police patrol cars were also out searching for the dogs.
A couple of blocks from the Williams' home, the dogs jumped Paul Evans' backyard fence on Colleen Drive. Evans, his wife and two small children were at church.
But Penny, a 33-pound mutt adopted from the SPCA, was home. By the time the Evanses found her, she had bite wounds on her neck, sides, back and belly, Evans said.
Apparently, as Penny was attacked, the Evanses' cat leaped atop the fence and began to screech, a noise that brought neighbor Patti Steinberg out of her house. She saw the two dogs leap from the Evanses' back yard, looked inside it and realized what happened.
Suddenly she remembered her own dog, a 6-year-old poodle named P.J. who had gotten out of her back yard just half an hour earlier to take a not-unusual jaunt around the neighborhood.
As of late Monday, P.J. was still missing.
Steinberg's son, Cory, as well as neighbors, spent the better part of Monday looking for P.J.
"He's a small little guy," Cory Steinberg said Monday evening. "I think he just got mauled somewhere, and I just can't find [his little body]."
Falls said the dogs were chased until they ran back to their own back yard on De Laura drive. Falls said both of the dogs had been loose separately in the past and had been chased, but never caught, by his wardens.
On Sunday morning, Falls said, he armed himself with a tranquilizer gun and was heading for Hacker's back yard when Hacker's wife, Patti Hacker, appeared and said she'd get the dogs. She put them on leashes and handed them over. The dogs were no trouble at that point, Falls said.
On Monday night, Clarence Hacker, who said he goes by the nickname "Chuck," said he was not home when the dogs dug out from their pen in his back yard and leaped the 6-foot privacy fence to escape.
WILD CLAIMS BY CHUCK HACKER THAT HIS DOGS ONLY 'FOUGHT' OTHER DOGS - RATHER THAN ATTACKING THEM AND THAT THERE ARE WILD, FEROCIOUS DOGS ATTACKING HIS CHILDREN THAT THESE DOGS PROTECTED THEM FROM... UM, YEAH
Hacker, who serves in the Navy, said the dogs - an 8 1/2-year-old female and her 7 1/2-year-old male pup - had gotten out before and had fought other dogs before.
"They fought off dogs that have attacked my children in the past," when he was stationed in other areas, he said.
With humans, the dogs are quiet and well-behaved, he said.
Hacker said he was not surprised when he came home and found out the dogs had been impounded for rampaging through Beechmont.
"I was surprised that they got out of the pen," he said.
Hacker said a third dog, a 2-year-old male, has never gotten out or attacked another dog. It is still in the backyard pen, he said.
PATTI HACKER TOLD THEM THEY WERE WOLF HYBRIDS. NOW HER HUSBAND IS CLAIMING HIS OWN WIFE WAS WRONG... BUT SAYS IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS IF THEY ARE. WHAT A GUY!
The SPCA's Falls said that in dealing with the Hackers' dogs when they were loose before and in talking to Patti Hacker Sunday, the dogs were identified as wolf-shepherd hybrids.
On Monday, Hacker claimed the dogs were part shepherd, part husky.
"Now that there's all this trouble, they say they're not wolf hybrids," Falls said, adding that wolf hybrids in general and these dogs in particular were not necessarily bad dogs. But hybrids must be trained properly and must be confined, he said.
Asked if they were part wolf, Hacker said, "If they are, it's nobody's concern but mine."
Guess that pretty much confirms that they are wolf hybrids.
The dogs, which are licensed and have all their shots, must be quarantined at least 10 days because neighbors said at least one woman may have been bitten while trying to fight the dogs off her pet, Falls said. That woman has not come forward, however, he said.
Hacker's neighbors said they are considering civil action.
Both Evans and Hipps said the veterinary bills to stitch up their dogs were close to $250 apiece, and the dogs would require further medical attention.
Evans noted that his children, ages 7 and 4 1/2, are about the same size as some of the dogs who were severely mauled or killed.
Evans said his children are not allowed to play alone in their own front yard. The fenced back yard is different, he said. "We've tried to teach them this is their yard and they're safe in their yard.
"If we hadn't been at church, most likely my children would have been in the back yard playing with the dog - what would have happened then?" Evans said.
DOG BREEDS
The two animals impounded Sunday for attacking several dogs in the Beechmont neighborhood of Denbigh have been identified alternately as wolf-German shepherd hybrids, shepherd-Alaskan malamute crossbreeds, and shepherd-Siberian husky crossbreeds.
Both the malamute and husky are close to the wolf in appearance, and all three breeds of dog can be naturally aggressive, according to dog experts and reference information.
Predicting what characteristics will become predominant in breeding two different kinds of canines is difficult, breeders say. A German shepherd is a herding dog, for instance, while the Alaskan malamute is a working dog, often used to pull heavy sleds through snow.
The likelihood of a dog being aggressive increases if both parents are aggressive. How a dog is raised and trained also becomes a factor in behavior, dog experts say.
Dogs bred with wolves, often referred to as hybrids, tend to be dominant, independent and even aloof, according to the "Dog Owner's Guide," an Internet reference page. Such hybrids can also be difficult to train and aggressive to other dogs, cats and small mammals, the guide says.
Sources: Dr. Paul Gustafson, member of the Greater Peninsula Veterinary Medical Association; Dory Hofmann, professional dog breeder, trainer and handler at Canine Training Unlimited in Chesapeake; "Dog Owner's Guide," Canis Major Publications (http://www.canismajor.com/dog).
(Daily Press - June 25, 1996)
Four pet dogs were killed outright, and at least nine more were severely mauled, say officials and pet owners, some of whom went through Beechmont with loaded weapons until the dogs were captured by SPCA controllers Sunday morning.
The dogs - initially identified as wolf-German shepherd hybrids and now thought to be shepherds mixed with either husky or malalmute - are in quarantine at the Peninsula Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said SPCA director Gene Falls.
The dogs' owner, Clarence E. Hacker who lives at 323 De Laura Drive, may face a charge of allowing vicious dogs to run loose, a misdemeanor that carries up to a $1,000 fine and destruction of the dogs, if a judge orders it, Falls said.
Pets were attacked in back yards in a one-mile area around Epes Elementary School, Falls said.
She apparently scared the bigger dogs, who jumped Hipps' four-foot fence into a neighbor's yard. As her husband and two of her three children jumped in their truck to try to follow the dogs, Hipps went to help Shadow, who was bleeding from severe lacerations to both shoulders.
The dogs apparently made their way back toward the elementary school and jumped Boyd and Eunice Williams' backyard fence on Alta Crescent just before 9 a.m.
Eunice Williams had just fed the family cat out on the sun porch and was preparing food for their two dogs, Winnie, a 3-year-old, 30-pound Welsh terrier mix, and Pookie, a 13-year-old, 9 1/2-pound gray poodle mix.
Williams said she was about to take a dog dish out to Pookie, who was barking at the porch door to be let in. Eunice Williams said she turned away for a minute; when she turned back, "all of the sudden she wasn't there."
She went into the back yard and saw two large dogs, who jumped the fence as soon as she came outside. "I didn't see my little Pookie. I looked around. She was lying in the grass, dead."
Winnie was also bitten in the neck, but apparently escaped the two dogs by running into the garage through a small dog door.
Boyd Williams went after the two dogs and found a neighbor across the street beating the dogs with a wooden 2-by-4 as they tried to attack his Labrador retriever. The dogs ran away, and both men began searching the neighborhood.
As they searched, they ran into others who also were looking for the dogs, some armed with loaded shotguns, Williams said. By then, five SPCA dog wardens and at least five police patrol cars were also out searching for the dogs.
A couple of blocks from the Williams' home, the dogs jumped Paul Evans' backyard fence on Colleen Drive. Evans, his wife and two small children were at church.
But Penny, a 33-pound mutt adopted from the SPCA, was home. By the time the Evanses found her, she had bite wounds on her neck, sides, back and belly, Evans said.
Apparently, as Penny was attacked, the Evanses' cat leaped atop the fence and began to screech, a noise that brought neighbor Patti Steinberg out of her house. She saw the two dogs leap from the Evanses' back yard, looked inside it and realized what happened.
Suddenly she remembered her own dog, a 6-year-old poodle named P.J. who had gotten out of her back yard just half an hour earlier to take a not-unusual jaunt around the neighborhood.
As of late Monday, P.J. was still missing.
Steinberg's son, Cory, as well as neighbors, spent the better part of Monday looking for P.J.
"He's a small little guy," Cory Steinberg said Monday evening. "I think he just got mauled somewhere, and I just can't find [his little body]."
Falls said the dogs were chased until they ran back to their own back yard on De Laura drive. Falls said both of the dogs had been loose separately in the past and had been chased, but never caught, by his wardens.
On Sunday morning, Falls said, he armed himself with a tranquilizer gun and was heading for Hacker's back yard when Hacker's wife, Patti Hacker, appeared and said she'd get the dogs. She put them on leashes and handed them over. The dogs were no trouble at that point, Falls said.
On Monday night, Clarence Hacker, who said he goes by the nickname "Chuck," said he was not home when the dogs dug out from their pen in his back yard and leaped the 6-foot privacy fence to escape.
WILD CLAIMS BY CHUCK HACKER THAT HIS DOGS ONLY 'FOUGHT' OTHER DOGS - RATHER THAN ATTACKING THEM AND THAT THERE ARE WILD, FEROCIOUS DOGS ATTACKING HIS CHILDREN THAT THESE DOGS PROTECTED THEM FROM... UM, YEAH
Hacker, who serves in the Navy, said the dogs - an 8 1/2-year-old female and her 7 1/2-year-old male pup - had gotten out before and had fought other dogs before.
"They fought off dogs that have attacked my children in the past," when he was stationed in other areas, he said.
With humans, the dogs are quiet and well-behaved, he said.
Hacker said he was not surprised when he came home and found out the dogs had been impounded for rampaging through Beechmont.
"I was surprised that they got out of the pen," he said.
Hacker said a third dog, a 2-year-old male, has never gotten out or attacked another dog. It is still in the backyard pen, he said.
PATTI HACKER TOLD THEM THEY WERE WOLF HYBRIDS. NOW HER HUSBAND IS CLAIMING HIS OWN WIFE WAS WRONG... BUT SAYS IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS IF THEY ARE. WHAT A GUY!
The SPCA's Falls said that in dealing with the Hackers' dogs when they were loose before and in talking to Patti Hacker Sunday, the dogs were identified as wolf-shepherd hybrids.
On Monday, Hacker claimed the dogs were part shepherd, part husky.
"Now that there's all this trouble, they say they're not wolf hybrids," Falls said, adding that wolf hybrids in general and these dogs in particular were not necessarily bad dogs. But hybrids must be trained properly and must be confined, he said.
Asked if they were part wolf, Hacker said, "If they are, it's nobody's concern but mine."
Guess that pretty much confirms that they are wolf hybrids.
The dogs, which are licensed and have all their shots, must be quarantined at least 10 days because neighbors said at least one woman may have been bitten while trying to fight the dogs off her pet, Falls said. That woman has not come forward, however, he said.
Hacker's neighbors said they are considering civil action.
Both Evans and Hipps said the veterinary bills to stitch up their dogs were close to $250 apiece, and the dogs would require further medical attention.
Evans noted that his children, ages 7 and 4 1/2, are about the same size as some of the dogs who were severely mauled or killed.
Evans said his children are not allowed to play alone in their own front yard. The fenced back yard is different, he said. "We've tried to teach them this is their yard and they're safe in their yard.
"If we hadn't been at church, most likely my children would have been in the back yard playing with the dog - what would have happened then?" Evans said.
DOG BREEDS
The two animals impounded Sunday for attacking several dogs in the Beechmont neighborhood of Denbigh have been identified alternately as wolf-German shepherd hybrids, shepherd-Alaskan malamute crossbreeds, and shepherd-Siberian husky crossbreeds.
Both the malamute and husky are close to the wolf in appearance, and all three breeds of dog can be naturally aggressive, according to dog experts and reference information.
Predicting what characteristics will become predominant in breeding two different kinds of canines is difficult, breeders say. A German shepherd is a herding dog, for instance, while the Alaskan malamute is a working dog, often used to pull heavy sleds through snow.
The likelihood of a dog being aggressive increases if both parents are aggressive. How a dog is raised and trained also becomes a factor in behavior, dog experts say.
Dogs bred with wolves, often referred to as hybrids, tend to be dominant, independent and even aloof, according to the "Dog Owner's Guide," an Internet reference page. Such hybrids can also be difficult to train and aggressive to other dogs, cats and small mammals, the guide says.
Sources: Dr. Paul Gustafson, member of the Greater Peninsula Veterinary Medical Association; Dory Hofmann, professional dog breeder, trainer and handler at Canine Training Unlimited in Chesapeake; "Dog Owner's Guide," Canis Major Publications (http://www.canismajor.com/dog).
(Daily Press - June 25, 1996)
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