BERLIN– A dog attack led to a reexamination of leash laws at a Mayor and Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 25.
Berlin resident Pam Hay said she was walking her dog on Saturday, Aug. 2, at approximately 3 p.m. when an unleashed dog attacked her 3-year-old cairn terrier Lulu. Hay said the attacking dog, a large mixed-breed resembling a beagle, was two-and-a-half times the size of her dog.
“He started biting the heck out of my dog,” Hay said. “I got wounded trying to get that dog off of my dog – obviously that dog was not on a leash – and that’s the second time that dog came after my dog.
“The first time the woman told me that dog would never hurt anybody or anything,” Hay continued. “I’m here because people don’t know what their dogs are going to do and they should be on a leash. We have a lot of people who aren’t keeping their dogs on their property and I think that we need to get some stronger laws about it because nobody takes it seriously.”
Hay was scratched during the incident but did not need treatment. She filled out a police report and took Lulu to the emergency room in Salisbury, where doctors treated her for puncture wounds.
“It was very scary,” she said. “I had to worry about them finding the dog and figuring out whether the dog was safe. (The owner) was not friendly about the whole situation or devastated or anything like I think I would have been. My biggest thing is I’m an adult and I was scared and there are kids who walk dogs.”
Hay said there were four streets in Berlin where she has noticed off-leash dogs on a regular basis.
“I can’t walk on Branch Street, I can’t walk on West Street, I can’t walk on Washington Street, I can’t walk on Burley Street because there are loose dogs,” she said. “They’re all family owned dogs, but they’re all dogs who are not restrained.”
Along with filing a police report Hay spoke with the health department and animal control. She said police told her they could only give a warning for first offenses.
“That’s what I want to change – I think people should be fined,” she said. “I think if somebody is hit for a couple hundred dollars they’ll think about keeping their dogs on a leash.”
Hay said the health department interviewed the dog owner and quarantined the attacking dog inside its home for 10 days.
“It was scary because I couldn’t do anything,” she said. “I do carry a stick with me now when I go for a walk.
“Everyone was wonderful – I don’t have any complaints with what anyone did as far as agencies are concerned – but I just think the town needs to get a little more strict about maybe changing (the laws),” Hay added.
After she presented her story to the council, Mayor Gee Williams said he had a similar experience.
“We had a small dog in our yard that was all fenced in, and a dog in the neighborhood somehow broke through the gate and killed my dog,” he said. “At that time there was no leash law and the attorney that I hired basically said, ‘every dog is allowed one bite.’ I don’t know if that has changed or not.
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find ways to have people act more responsibly,” Williams continued. There used to be a serious problem in this community 25, 30, 35 years ago, and there was a lot of reluctance for leash laws initially. But it gained acceptance and the problem seemed to abate. Now, obviously, it’s starting to come back again.”
Hay praised police, health department and animal control response.
“The problem is people not taking care of their dogs,” she said. “People need to be more responsible for their dogs.”
Williams asked town attorney David Gaskill to research leash law repercussions, and Police Chief Arnold Downing advised victims of dog attacks to, “call the first time.”
“The first warning is when you go down on Washington Street and see a dog off a property,” he said.
Downing said the law allows unleashed dogs to walk freely on their own property, but that police could issue citations for off-leash dogs not under their owner’s control.
“In this situation the fines and all of the penalties were handled by the health department,” Downing said. “The dog is deemed as a dangerous and deadly dog, and if it comes off of the property it has high fines and the possibility the dog would have to be taken from the owner.”
Animal control still has the option to fine the dog owner, according to Downing.
“The big thing they want to do is to make sure that (Hay) is paid for her vet bills,” he said. “The best thing for her is to make sure she stays in concert with the chief animal control officer.”
Downing asked Hay to submit any bills related to the incident to animal control.
“If the dog is wandering … we’ll fine them,” he said. “It’s very easy to do. But we have to get the phone calls. If we don’t get any phone calls we’re really placed at a disadvantage.”
Berlin resident Pam Hay said she was walking her dog on Saturday, Aug. 2, at approximately 3 p.m. when an unleashed dog attacked her 3-year-old cairn terrier Lulu. Hay said the attacking dog, a large mixed-breed resembling a beagle, was two-and-a-half times the size of her dog.
“He started biting the heck out of my dog,” Hay said. “I got wounded trying to get that dog off of my dog – obviously that dog was not on a leash – and that’s the second time that dog came after my dog.
“The first time the woman told me that dog would never hurt anybody or anything,” Hay continued. “I’m here because people don’t know what their dogs are going to do and they should be on a leash. We have a lot of people who aren’t keeping their dogs on their property and I think that we need to get some stronger laws about it because nobody takes it seriously.”
Hay was scratched during the incident but did not need treatment. She filled out a police report and took Lulu to the emergency room in Salisbury, where doctors treated her for puncture wounds.
“It was very scary,” she said. “I had to worry about them finding the dog and figuring out whether the dog was safe. (The owner) was not friendly about the whole situation or devastated or anything like I think I would have been. My biggest thing is I’m an adult and I was scared and there are kids who walk dogs.”
Hay said there were four streets in Berlin where she has noticed off-leash dogs on a regular basis.
“I can’t walk on Branch Street, I can’t walk on West Street, I can’t walk on Washington Street, I can’t walk on Burley Street because there are loose dogs,” she said. “They’re all family owned dogs, but they’re all dogs who are not restrained.”
Along with filing a police report Hay spoke with the health department and animal control. She said police told her they could only give a warning for first offenses.
“That’s what I want to change – I think people should be fined,” she said. “I think if somebody is hit for a couple hundred dollars they’ll think about keeping their dogs on a leash.”
Hay said the health department interviewed the dog owner and quarantined the attacking dog inside its home for 10 days.
“It was scary because I couldn’t do anything,” she said. “I do carry a stick with me now when I go for a walk.
“Everyone was wonderful – I don’t have any complaints with what anyone did as far as agencies are concerned – but I just think the town needs to get a little more strict about maybe changing (the laws),” Hay added.
After she presented her story to the council, Mayor Gee Williams said he had a similar experience.
“We had a small dog in our yard that was all fenced in, and a dog in the neighborhood somehow broke through the gate and killed my dog,” he said. “At that time there was no leash law and the attorney that I hired basically said, ‘every dog is allowed one bite.’ I don’t know if that has changed or not.
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t find ways to have people act more responsibly,” Williams continued. There used to be a serious problem in this community 25, 30, 35 years ago, and there was a lot of reluctance for leash laws initially. But it gained acceptance and the problem seemed to abate. Now, obviously, it’s starting to come back again.”
Hay praised police, health department and animal control response.
“The problem is people not taking care of their dogs,” she said. “People need to be more responsible for their dogs.”
Williams asked town attorney David Gaskill to research leash law repercussions, and Police Chief Arnold Downing advised victims of dog attacks to, “call the first time.”
“The first warning is when you go down on Washington Street and see a dog off a property,” he said.
Downing said the law allows unleashed dogs to walk freely on their own property, but that police could issue citations for off-leash dogs not under their owner’s control.
“In this situation the fines and all of the penalties were handled by the health department,” Downing said. “The dog is deemed as a dangerous and deadly dog, and if it comes off of the property it has high fines and the possibility the dog would have to be taken from the owner.”
Animal control still has the option to fine the dog owner, according to Downing.
“The big thing they want to do is to make sure that (Hay) is paid for her vet bills,” he said. “The best thing for her is to make sure she stays in concert with the chief animal control officer.”
Downing asked Hay to submit any bills related to the incident to animal control.
“If the dog is wandering … we’ll fine them,” he said. “It’s very easy to do. But we have to get the phone calls. If we don’t get any phone calls we’re really placed at a disadvantage.”