Owners are cited, one dog returned, another quarantined
Morgan Hill – Two teenagers were injured Friday morning when they were trying to rescue their cat from two pit bulls.
The two teens – a brother and a sister – were not seriously injured during the incident at a duplex on Markross Court, according to Morgan Hill Police Special Operations Sgt. David Swing.
The girl received puncture wounds and scrapes to her hand and leg, he said, and the boy was bitten in the leg.
The cat was later euthanized at the request of the owner because of the injuries suffered in the attack.
Ruben Campos, 25, of San Martin and Patricia Campos, 27, of Morgan Hill were cited and released for alleged violation of Morgan Hill municipal codes: having an animal at large and having an unregistered dog.
Swing said Ruben’s dog was returned to him pending possibly action by Santa Clara County because he lives in the county jurisdiction. Patricia’s dog was released to an animal care facility and placed in quarantine because the law requires animals that bite humans to be held in case they have rabies.
The incident began at approximately 9:40am Friday at the duplex where Patricia lives. Ruben and his dog were visiting Patricia, when the two dogs got out of the house and went in the direction of the attached residence. The front door of that residence was apparently open, Swing said, and the dogs spotted a cat inside.
“The dogs gave chase as the cat fled upstairs,” he said. “They caught the cat and were attacking it, and the brother and sister in the home tried to pull the dogs off the cat and were injured in the process.”
Patricia’s dog will likely be classified as a “level two” dangerous dog, which means the animal must be kept muzzled and on a leash or in an enclosure when not inside the residence.
A dog is classified as “level one” if its behavior is menacing or aggressive or endangers the safety of a domestic animal. A “level three” classification is reserved for dogs who severely injure or kill a person or kill a domestic animal.
Nicholas Faibish, 12, was killed in San Francisco on June 3, 2005 when one or two of his family’s pit bulls attacked him.
A pit bull on a leash attacked a boxer on a leash on East Main Avenue near Grand Prix Way on July 14, 2005, injuring the boxer.
A pit bull was shot by a Morgan Hill police officer Aug. 23, 2005, after the officer responded to a call from a resident of Spring Hill Road. A neighbor’s pit bull and Rottweiler had entered the resident’s yard through a hole in a fence, and the pit bull charged the resident when he attempted to get the dogs back into their yard. The pit bull charged the police officer as he neared the fence to inspect the hole, and the officer shot the pit bull near the mouth. The animal was later euthanized.
Most recently, Morgan Hill resident Burt Berson and his Finnish Spitz, Amber, were attacked by two pit bulls on East Main Avenue between Montoya Circle and Carriage Lamp Drive. Amber was seriously injured, but survived, while Berson received minor injuries. One of the attacking dogs was shot by a Morgan Hill police officer; the other dog was later euthanized.
The dog that was killed had been classified as “level one” after another incident in July 2005.
Berson and his wife, Joyce Peterson, have been working with the city’s Public Safety and Community Services Committee looking at the city’s current ordinances for dangerous dogs to see if they need strengthening.
The current municipal code, Berson said, “has the proper things in it.”
He believes the city needs to work on enforcing such animal control laws and urge the public to register animals, which will require owners to properly vaccinate them and allow the city to keep better track of them.
Berson, who now walks with a brass-headed walking stick for protection, said he wants to keep public awareness of dangerous dogs at a high level. He also suggested that perhaps the police department might consider conducting safety checks on people who are concerned their dogs might be dangerous.
“As a community service, they could tell owners their fence needs to be higher, for example,” he said. “I’m not sure how many people would actually request this service, but I do think there are some people who own these kinds of dogs who don’t want them to be dangerous, or aggressive, and when they get out and attack, it is an accident.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
