Saline Township woman faces charges after dogs wander away from home, attack other dog
A 22-year-old Saline Township woman faces two misdemeanor crimes for allegedly allowing two Akita dogs to stray off their leashes and attack another dog, according to police.
Washtenaw County prosecutors authorized a two-count misdemeanor warrant against the woman last week, according to a Saline police report. The charges stem from an incident on the morning of Oct. 27 in the 300 block of Arlington Drive.
According to the police report, two Akita dogs attacked a 13-year-old springer spaniel-Labrador mix in the garage of the home. The 13-year-old dogs owners were in the home and heard a commotion. After discovering the attack, the dog’s owners were able to drive the Akitas away, according to the report.
After calling police, the owners told investigators they wanted something to be done about the two Akitas, which are well-known for roaming around the area. The police report stated there were at least eight other police reports involving the two dogs wandering away from their home in the 8000 block of Macon Road. Ownership of the dogs was transferred to the woman from a man she lives with, according to the report.
Police responded to the 22-year-old woman’s home and found her in her car. She told police she had been looking for the dogs but needed to stop because she was late for work. The Akitas eventually returned to their home, where police impounded them and turned them over to the Humane Society.
The 13-year-old dog suffered three severe puncture wounds on its neck and shoulder, according to the report.
On Nov. 13, prosecutors approved a warrant for two counts of allowing a dog to stray while not properly held on a leash, according to the police report. The woman faces a maximum of three months in jail and a $100 fine.
The woman’s name is not being released because AnnArbor.com could not confirm she’s been arraigned on the charges as of Monday afternoon.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
music to my ear
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 3:01 p.m.
if these dogs are attackers, something needs to be done NOW.I can Imagine the stress these animals are causing their human, she is out working and the little thugs run free able to attack what ever is in their path, sorry about the little dog, just lucky it was not a child.and if these dogs continue their little runs of freedom it could be a child next.owners get your heads out of the fog I have two little dogs, and one is very vicious I would never GIVE IT the chance to roam.
music to my ear
Wed, Nov 21, 2012 : 2:04 p.m.
I did say sorry about the little dog, and more concern it did not attack a child, I did own a dog who we tried to help, it was his breeding .it was a very stressful year for us as trying to be reasponable dog owners I am not involved so I can see every angle now,I have two little dogs now and would be devastated if that had happen to them.
arborani
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 11:12 p.m.
I would worry more about the stress incurred by the owner of the dog which was attacked. Not to mention that dog.
MI Farmer
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 1:09 p.m.
Three S's??? problem solved.
jcj
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 2:09 p.m.
They do that a lot in Idaho!
jcj
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 2:25 a.m.
"The police report stated there were at least eight other police reports involving the two dogs wandering away from their home' How many reports does it take to get action?
Craig
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 1:28 a.m.
What about the line from dog owners - my dog won't bite. Hmmm
Ann English
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 11:46 p.m.
I wonder if any dog owners today think that some dog breeds are more likely to bite than others. Apparently labradors are generally nice dogs, but vizslas are not generally mean and protective dogs either. I don't know why a nine-week-old black Labrador puppy with a little vizsla ancestry mixed in, whom I had for nine months, growled at visitors, scaring them. She may well have become a biter if she had lived. On the other hand, I would expect German shepherd owners to be careful with their dogs when unfamiliar people are around them. Saluki owners, too, if their dogs are males and a saluki meets another male dog in the neighborhood. Territorial rights.
arborani
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 11:10 p.m.
Oh, Cinnabar - you beat me to it.
cinnabar7071
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 4:15 a.m.
That's not my dog.
Krupper1
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 1:18 a.m.
"The police report stated there were at least eight other police reports involving the two dogs. . ." Insert "toddler" for "springer spaniel" and many would seek a much broader culpability.
nickcarraweigh
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 1:16 a.m.
An independent psychiatrist might well conclude some of the upstanding citizens of Saline, those who remain, may find this final outrage just too much to endure. Our hopes and best wishes for a better tomorrow go out to the whole community.
Westfringe
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 12:32 a.m.
Sounds like someone who can't take care of herself let alone an animal. Please never have children.
Ann English
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 11:28 p.m.
Whether it's a medium-size dog attacking a small one or a large dog attacking a medium-size dog, the attacker goes for the neck. Akitas are large dogs, spaniels are medium-sized. Annarbor.com, when you ran a story about a small dog in western Canton getting attacked by a wild animal, you showed the neck wound from the best possible distance away. This spaniel/labrador mix, whether or not requiring having some neck/shoulder fur shaved off, will need stitches. When one of my neighbors' medium dog attacked a second neighbor's small dog whom I was sitting for, it was a side of the medium dog I had never seen before; my own large dog came outside with the small one to romp with the medium dog. The small dog got surgery paid for by the medium dog's owner, who got rid of his attacking dog by his own volition. Stitches in the neck. No pit bulls involved.
Dog Guy
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:22 p.m.
What a relief that the attack dogs were not pit bulls!
music to my ear
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 6:18 p.m.
dang dog
johnnya2
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 2:26 a.m.
While you may be right it is the owners dogman, the issue is the inherent strength and failure to properly train the dog that most people fear. A pit bull is much more likely and able to kill another dog or human based on pure strength. It is like saying bombs dont kill people, people do, BUT the fact is bombs with the wrong people kill much easier than those who have to do it manually.
dogman32
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 11:11 p.m.
Two months ago we entered our three dogs, not Pits, in the North American Pit Bull Terrier Association Dog Show at the Wayne County Fairgrounds in Belleville. It was the National Show for Pits but was open to all breeds. Three days of Conformation, Weight Pull, Obedience, Agility and Lure Coursing events. There were close to four dozen Pits entered, a handful from Italy, and we didn't see one violent or aggressive act. I don't think that was extraordinary. It typifies what we have seen in a decade of showing our dogs and supports what Peggy says.
Peggy
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 9:58 p.m.
Are you being sarcastic Dog Guy? When I read this article I was surprised that another breed of dog was "attacking" (SARCASM). I have owned my fair share of dogs over the years, 2 being pit bulls and the "pits" were just as sweet, if not sweeter than some of the other breeds. It's the pit bull owners that train their dogs to attack, you can train any dog to be vicious. Our society needs to get beyond the mistaken belief that pit bulls are vicious, they are not born that way.
dogman32
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 9:19 p.m.
Maybe so, JRA. If that's the case, motion to reconsider is withdrawn! But the adage still rings true. Woof, woof!!!
JRA
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:58 p.m.
I took Dog Guy's comment as sarcasm....since "pit bull attacks" seem to be what usually grabs the attention of the media..
dogman32
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:50 p.m.
From one "Dog" to another, are you certain you don't want to reconsider that statement? Ever hear the adage, "Don't blame the breed, blame the owner"?
JRA
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:20 p.m.
What a terrible situation all around. At the end of the day, three dogs suffer, all because someone (allegedly) allows their dogs to roam free. The sad part is that people usually blame the dogs when something like this happens, when in reality, it is often due to a dog owners negligence.
Zhuk
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:09 p.m.
I would be scared to let my dogs roam like that if my dogs were problem dogs. There are tons of people out there who would just shoot dogs like that if they caught them attacking their old springer spaniel (or other type of non problem dog) That woman is lucky that she isn,t burying her dogs and in trouble with the law.
timjbd
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 11:58 a.m.
She IS in trouble with the law. "On Nov. 13, prosecutors approved a warrant for two counts of allowing a dog to stray while not properly held on a leash, according to the police report. The woman faces a maximum of three months in jail and a $100 fine."
treetowncartel
Mon, Nov 19, 2012 : 8:04 p.m.
Once again it just goes to show there are no bad dogs, just bad owners.
Robo
Tue, Nov 20, 2012 : 4:33 p.m.
no it doesn't.