♥ Montgomery dogs declared dangerous

As published in the Courier-Tribune

By Hugh Martin

biscoewriter@yahoo.com

TROY – Following two public hearings on separate incidents Montgomery County commissioners, acting as a Board of Appeals, declared several dogs to be considered dangerous, which will require their owners to take steps to prevent problems in the future.

Montgomery County Animal Control Officer Leon Everett appeared before the board to address the first complaint, which occurred July 16 on Onville Road, a rural area in the southern part of the county.

Everett said that a Chihuahua mix dog, owned by Brenda Foland, was attacked and killed by two Pit-bull mix dogs belonging to Jeremiah and Rebecca Stewart. The attack was witnessed by Mrs. Foland’s husband.

This was the second incident of a dog belonging to the Folands being attacked and killed by the Stewart’s dogs.

“Jeremiah Stewart did not deny that his dogs were responsible for the killings,” reported Everett.

Everett told the board that Stewart had paid the Foland’s veterinarian bills, reimbursed her for the loss of her dogs and gave her a puppy.

Stewart told the board that his dogs had never shown any aggression toward humans or any other animals, but that the Foland’s dogs had repeatedly come onto his property and instigated the attacks.

“The first dog came over and tried to drink from my dog’s water bowl,” Stewart said. “Dogs will be dogs. They were trying to protect what was theirs.”

Stewart asked the board that, in the case the dogs were deemed to be dangerous, if he could install an invisible fence to contain them rather than keeping them confined to a cage. Everett told the board that the law did not consider such a system to be allowable.

Stewart said that he is now keeping the dogs in a chain-link enclosure and letting them out only with the use of harnesses and a 60-pound-test leash.

Commissioner Edgar Morris asked if the Folands could not be required to keep their dogs on their property. Everett replied that since Montgomery County did not have a leash law, then there was no law to require them to do so.

No one appeared on behalf of the Folands.

The board voted 5-0 to deem the dogs to be dangerous.

In the second case, Everett reported that in mid-July a Jack Russell owned by Phyllis Parsons of Currie Road, Candor, was attacked and killed by two Great Danes owned by Eric Barnes. A second dog belonging to Parsons was attacked and injured by the same two dogs on August 3. Everett said that this attack was witnessed by a family member of Parsons.

Parsons told the board that she had been calling Animal Control about the dogs since September 2011. “The problem began with the dogs tearing up the trash,” she said. “They are nothing but skin over bones. They’re looking for food.”

Everett reported that Barnes has been relocated out-of-state but that he had been notified of the hearing and the potential outcome if his dogs are deemed dangerous. No one appeared on behalf of Barnes.

Everett said that he had seen the dogs that day and that they had “deteriorated considerably” since he had last seen them August 3. “They are malnourished, not caged and are being cared for by Barnes’ wife,” he reported.

Commissioner Dolon Corbett made a motion to deem the dogs as dangerous. Edgar Morris amended the motion to include that they be picked up by Everett. The motion passed 5-0. Everett said he would pick the animals up immediately.