On Saturday, a teen girl was injured by a loose dog in the Village of North Lewisburg and Mayor Ted Murphy has had enough.
“We’re going to crack down on it,” Murphy told village council earlier this week. “One child getting attacked is enough.”
According to North Lewisburg Police Chief Scott Bodey, a 13-year-old girl was injured by a German Shepherd Saturday. The injuries appear to have come from the animal’s claws and were treated with gauze and bandages.
“I’m tired of it,” Murphy said. “We’ve had one child and that’s too many.”
While Saturday’s incident didn’t result in severe injuries, the victim in a dog attack in the village in April wasn’t so fortunate.
According to North Lewisburg Police Department records, in that incident a different German Shepherd attacked a woman walking down the street and bit her forearm. The report indicates that the bite was deep enough to expose muscle, tendons and bone.
The victim was transported by CareFlight to Riverside Hospital for treatment of her injuries.
“Enough is enough,” Murphy said. “We’re done.”
The mayor said the incidents don’t involve animals that are wild, but rather pets that are allowed out of homes to run unrestrained.
He said the day after the most recent attack he was driving through the village and once again saw pets being allowed to run unsupervised. He turned around to address the situation but the animals had been brought back inside.
Murphy said Saturday’s incident came as the girl and her father were walking their own dog on a leash when the other animal attacked. The girl was injured in the altercation between the animals.
Council member Darlena Huffman said she was out with her dog on the village walking trail recently when a similar thing happened. Although there was no attack, an unleashed dog ran aggressively toward her animal.
Murphy said the days of unleashed animals are over.
“You can say you have a nice dog all you want, but they must be under control,” he said.
Bodey said his department has taken 19 reports of loose canines in the last 12 months. He said many of those cases resulted in the owner being cited, but others resulted in the dog running away and the owner never being located.
Bodey said it has always been up to officer discretion to issue a loose canine violation or a warning for a first time offense, unless there was a violence-related incident involving the canine.
As of this week, there will be no more warnings, according to Bodey.
“I have informed our officers, as well as the public via Facebook, that our agency will no longer tolerate any loose dog infractions,” Bodey said.
The chief said first time offenses will involve the owner being charged according to state statute. A first violation is a minor misdemeanor and the second, and any subsequent, violations within a one-year period would be a fourth degree misdemeanor up to a $250 fine.
The owner of the dog in the April attack was cited and the more recent incident is still under investigation.
If a canine is located and captured, the animal will be transported to the Urbana dog pound where the owner can claim the dog.
Bodey said the village is working with its solicitor on increasing the penalty for loose dogs. The evaluation of the ordinance is still ongoing.