Friday, Sep. 03, 2010

Shawna Stockton: No teeth in animal control policy

Tuesday morning I received a call from my brother who lives in Los Banos, and he was very upset. After getting home from a night shift at work, he went out back to feed his two dogs, only one of which came when he poured the food. He called for his German shepherd, but the dog never came.

My brother then went to look for him, finding him on the side yard curled up in a ball as if he were asleep. When my brother got closer, he saw that there was blood all over the dog. Looking around the back yard, my brother then realized that the neighbor's pit-bulls had broken through the fence and mauled his dog to death.

This is the fourth time these dogs have broken through the fence. Two weeks ago the pit-bulls attacked my niece's cat, who survived, thanks to the German shepherd coming to the rescue. There was not a police report filed for that incident, however a police report was filed this morning, and a message was left with animal control.

When animal control called back, they informed my brother that they will not remove the pit-bulls until they have two reported incidents in three years. This is a ridiculous policy! These dogs have already proved to be violent creatures, and they need to be removed and put to sleep. There are small children in that home and also in the neighborhood.

The dogs' next "incident" may be with a child. There is no reason for anyone to own six dogs in city limits, let alone six vicious dogs that cannot be controlled. I cannot believe that Los Banos Animal Control is not willing to do anything.

Look at the incident that happened in Concord a few weeks ago. The guy knew his dogs were vicious, they killed three of the family pets, then went on to kill the 2-year-old grandson. Then after the child had been killed, the guy very remorsefully says to the news team, from jail, that he should have put the dogs down after the first pet attack. Is this what Los Banos Animal Control is waiting for?

If animal control were tougher with its policy, and took an animal after its first reported incident, they wouldn't have to worry about if the second call out would be because these dogs mauled a human.

-- Shawna Stockton,

Vacaville