Susan,
I am so very sorry that you have been traumatized by this attack. I will ask that our law enforcement and county animal services is aware of this incident.

Best,
Lauren
________________________________________
From: Suzan Clark [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2018 5:46 PM
To: Poe, Lauren B; Warren, Helen K.; Johnson, Gail; Simmons, Gigi G; Ward, Harvey L; Arreola, David I; Hayes-Santos, Adrian; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Attention City Officials

Hello,

I am writing to you again about yet another vicious dog attack that has not been handled appropriately.

A dog named "Trumpster" was horribly injured after a vicious dog attack, and the woman's nephew was bitten in the hand as well. Please look at the attached photos of the horrific injuries this dog has suffered.

Animal control, once again, did not remove the aggressive dogs and instead allowed them to remain in the owners home under home quarantine. Why would dogs who inflict this level of harm, be allowed to remain in the home of the owners who allowed this savage attack to occur in the first place? The dogs have proven to be dangerous and the owners have proven they are irresponsible.

There is a human bite victim in this case, and rabies is virtually 100% fatal. Why would the officials entrust the owner to monitor their own dogs for signs of rabies and to self report if the dogs do show signs of the virus? As you know from Nathaniel Pettifords case, dog owners will sometimes remove or hide dogs involved in these attacks, in an attempt to avoid actions being taken against them. The only way to ensure these dogs are appropriately contained and supervised is to be quarantined in a veterinary facility or by animal control.

In addition to the rabies protocol, these dogs have proven to be dangerous dogs. They are a threat to everyone in the community and their pets.

Please ask animal control to uphold their own ordinances and stop failing the community. As a taxpayer funded service, animal control has a duty of service.

As city officials, you have the ability to revisit and strengthen your dog ordinances. Please strengthen these ordinances to show zero tolerance for vicious and dangerous animals. Enforce penalties against the owners of dangerous dogs. Allow the option to euthanize a dangerous animal after an attack. How much time and money has been spent on these problems already? I'm sure you all have better things to do than deal with constant dog attacks. I have read articles that suggest increasing the budget for animal control. Please do not give more taxpayer funding to animal control until they prove themselves competent in their duties. This cannot continue! It seems ridiculous that it takes a viral news story and an outraged community to force them to do their jobs appropriately.

Please revisit your ordinances to reflect the best interests of the community you serve. Do not let the ordinance favor dangerous dog owners over their victims. Include penalties that include seizure, fines, criminal charges, civil liability, and euthanasia of dangerous animals who have attacked pets and people. At a minimum, please require strict requirements for dangerous dog breeds, such as pit bulls. Examples of precautions should include secure 6 sided containment, muzzles required in public, 3 foot leashes, only adults allowed to walk them, microchip, spay/neuter, rabies vaccinations, registration, and proof of liability insurance.

Please address this problem with the utmost urgency. If there is action required on the part of the community, please advise us in what direction we need to start to ensure these changes are made.

Thank you,
Suzan Clark

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