WASHINGTON — The owners of the five pit bull mix dogs involved in an attack on another dog deny their animals are dangerous, and are appealing a county decision that labelled the dogs as such.
Tom Koenig, director of the Animal Services Division of the Montgomery County Police, says the dog that was attacked by the pit-bull mixes, a 7-year-old foxhound mix named Addie, died after being treated for the bites she sustained in last week’s incident on Robindale Drive near Rockville. Addie was being walked by a 28-year-old woman who was also injured in the attack. The woman was treated and released from a local hospital.
Koenig says there is no record of prior complaints linked to the home where the pit bull mixes lived. He says the dogs had been vaccinated for rabies, and were licensed as required under county law.
The case will be heard by the Animal Matters Hearing Board, whose members are appointed by Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett.
“They will decide either to uphold the director’s decision, deny the director’s decision and send the dog back to its owners, or come up with some kind of amendment that they feel better fits this matter, said Koenig. “So we just have to wait and see what they decide.”
A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
“It could take a month or two” said Koenig. “We’re hoping to get it done as soon as we can. It’s in the best interest of the dogs and the case overall.”
Koenig says it’s relatively rare for a dog to be designated “dangerous” in a county that can log between 650 to 800 bites in a year.
“You might have between 30 and 40 that are declared potentially dangerous. You might have another 10 or 11 that are declared dangerous,” said Koenig.
The dogs will remain in the custody of the Animal Services Division until the Animal Matters Hearing Board makes a ruling in the case, Koenig said.
“Nothing is going to happen to those dogs until after the hearing,” said Koenig.
If the board determines that the dogs are indeed dangerous, Koenig said it is likely that they would be euthanized.
