Submitted by Margaret La Grange
A ferocious pit bull mix dog in my neighborhood has been the subject of three reports to the police in the last two months: aggressive and intimidating barking, pinning a resident (me) to their gate on private property, attacking a dog on the other side of the street on public property, and pinning down a jogger in position, afraid to move forward or backward, also on public property. When I described the situation to Police Chief Froomin, he stepped up immediately, and sent a letter to the owners of the dog, stating his concerns for public safety and warning the neighbor that if there were any more infractions of the Municipal Code, enforcement may be necessary. Subsequently, the owners have expanded the height of their fence in their front yard, the area through which the dog escapes, to approximately 3 ft. 3 in. This would be in compliance with the letter, I believe, to demonstrate an effort to make alterations to keep the dog contained. As soon as I saw the changes being made, I emailed and phoned the owners, expressing my concern and that of others, that the fence still wasn’t tall enough to keep the dog from jumping over it. I emailed and left a phone message asking if they had tested it. I received no reply. This is a very athletic dog, very strong and agile. I think, as do several others familiar with this dog, that this will present no obstacle to the dog if it is determined to get to the other side. I have to ask myself, if the owners were trying to illustrate their concern for their neighbors’ safety and an eagerness to do all they could to contain the dog, why didn’t they raise the fence to the maximum 4 feet allowed by the city for our block? According to an online pit bull forum, a minimum fence height of four feet is suggested for some pit bulls, six to eight feet preferred for most. So, bottom line, until another infraction of the Municipal Code occurs and enforcement takes place, I will not allow my grandchildren (six and eight) to play in my front yard, especially with their new puppy, and I will continue to look over my shoulder whenever I go out, and carry pepper spray. I truly dread hearing once again the voices of distress as another jogger or dog walker gets chased and pinned down by this dog. I truly pity the next poor soul who gets terrified, or worse, by this dog.
Margaret La Grange
Editor’s Note: the feature image used is a generic ‘pit bull behind fence’ from flickr.com and has no connection with the dog referenced in this story.
