Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Milwaukee, WI
Normal
Revay Wright lets his dog, Hershey Bar, into his
fenced yard to enjoy unseasonably warm weather. Next door, his new
neighbor Guillermo let his dog into his own yard. The dog finds a weak
spot in the fence and enters Wright’s yard.
Not
Guillermo’s dog is a pit bull. It attacks Hershey Bar, a small dog, and kills him.
"He had my dog under the brush in his mouth,"
Wright and his family take their pet to the vet, but the injuries are too bad.
"I just knew it, we took him to the vet and there was nothing they could do for him. Messed up, messed up, it's hard,"
Consequences
A small, harmless, innocent dog is killed brutally in his own yard.
A family is traumatized by the brutal killing of their pet in the yard where he should have been safe.
A pit bull has a fun time killing a dog, and gets to go home to its owner for snuggles.
A pit bull owner is cited and given 4 weeks to fix his rotted fence; he says he’ll fix it in 3 weeks,
and doesn’t mention if he plans to allow his killer pit to use the
essentially unfenced yard in that time period. He also claims to have
to attend a training program run by the city’s animal control
commission.
Animal Control Says
Chapter
78-22 of the City of Milwaukee Code of Ordinances places special
requirements on owners of dogs that are one half or more American
staffordshire terrier, staffordshire terrier,
American Pitbull terrier, staffordshire bull terrier, miniature bull
terrier or Rottweiler.
Any
person who walks a Pitbull or Rottweiler dog must have it attached to a
leash no longer than 6 ft. and must be at least 16 years old and able
to control the animal. A person
older than 16 who is of slight stature may not be able to control a
large Rottweiler and may not walk the dog. The person must be competent
to govern the dog and prevent it from annoying or worrying pedestrians
or trespassing on property. In addition,
the owner of the dog must attend a dog behavior class. These classes are offered by the
Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission.
As
underlined, the above seems to be the reason Guillermo is being
required to take a training class. However, this seems like an odd,
inappropriately mild response to the violence
of the pit bull’s behavior.
Milwaukee also has a basic, overall, useful dangerous dog law which, unlike many, includes attacks on domestic pets.
PROHIBITED AND DANGEROUS ANIMALS (s. 78-23)
Any animal which, when unprovoked, bites or inflicts bodily harm on a person,
domestic pet or animal on public or private property can be declared dangerous.
Any
animal which chases or approaches a person in a menacing fashion or
apparent attitude of attack without provocation upon the streets,
sidewalks or any public grounds
or on private property without the permission of the owner or person in
lawful control of the property can be declared dangerous.
An
animal with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack, to
cause injury to, or to otherwise threaten the safety of humans or other
domestic pets or animals
can be declared dangerous.
(An
animal shall not be deemed dangerous if it bites defending its owner or
caretaker, protecting its young or another animal, defends itself
against any person or animal
which has tormented, assaulted or abused it, or is defending it's owner
or caretaker's property against trespassers.)
When
an animal has been declared dangerous by the Department of Neighborhood
Services, a Dangerous Animal Order will be issued to the animal owner
or caretaker. Within
7 days, the owner has two options:
1)
to comply with Sections 78-23-1 through 7 and 10 of the Milwaukee Code
of Ordinances, or 2) have the animal destroyed by MADACC or a licensed
veterinarian as pursuant
to Section 78-23-11 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances.
Sections
78-23-1 through 7 and 10 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances are as
follows: Whenever an owner or caretaker wishes to contest an order, he
or she shall, within
72 hours after receipt of the order, deliver to DNS a written objection
to the order. The Department of Neighborhood Services then convenes the
dangerous animal hearing panel.
And a separate section of the city’s animal control laws specifically addresses exactly what happened here:
PROHIBITED DANGEROUS ANIMAL
(s.78-25)
An animal that is determined to be a prohibited dangerous animal under s. 78-25 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances include:
An animal that is determined to be a prohibited dangerous animal under s. 78-25 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances include:
-
Any animal that kills a domestic pet or animal without provocation while off of the owner or caretaker's property.
- Any animal that inflicts substantial bodily harm on a person without provocation on public or private property.
- Any animal brought into Milwaukee from another Wisconsin city, village, town or county in which it has been declared dangerous or vicious, has been banished from the city, village, town or county or has been ordered to be destroyed.
- Any dog that is subject to being destroyed under s. 174.02(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes.
-Any dog trained, owned or harbored for the purpose of dog fighting.
- Any animal that inflicts substantial bodily harm on a person without provocation on public or private property.
- Any animal brought into Milwaukee from another Wisconsin city, village, town or county in which it has been declared dangerous or vicious, has been banished from the city, village, town or county or has been ordered to be destroyed.
- Any dog that is subject to being destroyed under s. 174.02(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes.
-Any dog trained, owned or harbored for the purpose of dog fighting.
When
an animal has been declared a prohibited dangerous animal, a Prohibited
Dangerous Animal Order will be issued on the animal owner. The animal
must either be removed
from the City of Milwaukee within 7 days of receipt of order or destroyed. The order may be appealed in writing within 72 hours of receipt of order to the Department of Neighborhood Services.
It’s
clear that animal control had ample power to pursue an appropriate
response to a case where a dog escapes its owner’s yard not to run loose
and bark and chase cats, but to attack
and kill another dog. Instead, they chose a response which is
completely inappropriate to the situation. A fine, probably for dog at
large or lacking a license, plus a required training program, is
something you do if you pick up a loose pit bull and return
it to the owner. When the pit bull has attacked and killed, you are
supposed to move on to the next level of law enforcement.
Obituary for a good dog
"He was family to us,"
Milwaukee’s Rottweiler/Pit Bull rules
Milwaukee’s animal laws
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