Willow Glen Resident

News

Two attacks by four-legged pets have left local residents shaken

By Mayra Flores De Marcotte

In dog-friendly Willow Glen, some owners are not behaving responsibly. Two recent events have left some residents shaken.

According to San Jose Animal Care Center spokeswoman Julie St. Gregory, an 8-year-old German shepherd named Zack got out of his home on Sept. 12 at 8:30 a.m., ran up to a woman near the corner of Cottle Avenue and Sandra Way and bit her.

"The woman was just walking past the house, and the dog was not confined," St. Gregory said. "It was a normal bite. Almost 99 percent of dog bites occur this way. It's nothing out of the ordinary."

About a week later on Sept. 23, there was a second incident near Coe Avenue involving a black and brown German shepherd mix and a black and brown pit bull mix, which got out of their home and into a neighbor's back yard and attacked a cat, which died.

The first incident was witnessed by Willow Glen resident Pete Fallico, who claims it was much more than an ordinary dog bite. He was coming home from his morning walk and stopped when he heard the screams.

"There was a young woman in the middle of the road and her body language told me she was afraid," Fallico said.

It was then that he saw the German shepherd gallop out to her, jump and knock her down.

"She was almost a rag doll the way he was dragging her, and he was biting her arms," he said.

The attack was over within seconds, and the dog just walked away. Fallico went to the woman and helped her up.

"There were four or five tooth marks, dark blue spots on her arm, but no blood," he said.

"Then she showed me her left arm, and the dog had bit through it."

According to Fallico, another woman who had heard the commotion in the street called the police. Within minutes, two fire trucks, an ambulance and three police cars arrived.

At this point, the dog had returned to its home and sat at the gate underneath a sign that read, "Beware of Dog," Fallico said.

"I've never seen the dog before," he said.

Two days later, Fallico spoke to the neighborhood mail carrier, who said the dog often scared him when he would stop at that house.

As a dog owner himself, Fallico gives the benefit of the doubt to the dog and said the only ones to blame are the owners.

St. Gregory said the incident is being investigated. The dog has been quarantined, and she could not release the owners' names.

There was construction taking place at the house and Fallico said, "Maybe the heavy construction could have caused him to jump the fence, do something unusual. The gate looked secure."

A second attack on Sept. 23, which left the house cat dead, is also under investigation. The dogs are still at the home because the dog owner signed a compliance agreement stating she would keep them confined, St. Gregory said.

In the end, the responsibility lies with the owners, said Beth Ward, vice president of animal and customer care for Humane Society Silicon Valley.

"If we made a choice to have a dog as part of our family, we have made a choice to keep our family as well as others around him safe," Ward said. "Part of doing this are three key components--spay/neuter, socialization and training. It will make your pet a more enjoyable part of the family as well as the community."

Spaying or neutering dogs help to keep their behavior stable, she said.

"They're not trying to be the macho dog in the neighborhood," Ward said. "They're more calm and under control."

Having a pet spayed or neutered reduces the dog's desire to wander, she said.

"They're no longer searching for that mate," she said. "It also makes them more connected to the home."

Socialization is key in diminishing the potential of a bite or attack.

"It should be well socialized with people of all different ages, sizes and colors so that anyone that greets them is not seen as a threat," Ward said. "Also, socialize them with other dogs."

Lastly, control over the dog through training helps owners avoid these situations.

"Always have control of your dog," she said. "The best way is having it attached to you by a leash. You always have that connection so that you can stop something before it happens."

According to Martha Pignone, who works for the San Jose Animal Care Center, there were 803 dog bites and 280 cat bites reported in 2006 in San Jose, Milpitas, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Cupertino--the center's coverage areas--but not all bites are reported.

"If they don't get treated at the hospital, there's no way for us to track them," Pignone said.

The majority of dog bites happen just outside of people's property, St. Gregory said.

"Dogs are just protecting their territory," she said. "They think they're just doing their job, but biting isn't a trait found most desirable in a dog."

In this case, the offending dog was a large breed, but all breeds and all types of dogs can bite, St. Gregory said.

"Sometimes even with nice dogs, the instinct to protect kicks in," she said.

In both the Sept. 12 and 23 incidents, if the investigator finds that the dogs are deemed dangerous, then a trial before a hearing officer could take place, which would determine if the dog is dangerous, how dangerous the dog is, and rules that could be imposed such as additional training and muzzling while out on a leash.

An aggressive dog can be deemed: potentially dangerous, dangerous or vicious. There is follow-up after the hearing by animal control.

"If they're noncompliant, there could be stricter rules imposed or the animal can be confiscated or euthanized," St. Gregory said.

Although the dogs from the Sept. 23 incident did not have any history, the owner had a separate dog impounded in 2005 after it was found wandering the streets, St. Gregory said.

In the end, it is up to owners to make their neighborhoods safe.

"We all have to live together," Ward said, "so we should make it as enjoyable as possible, including for our four-legged friends."

For more information, on Humane Society Silicon Valley, visit www.hssv.org. For the San Jose Animal Care Center, visit www.san joseanimals.com.