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11-11-2009 CITY OF EDGEWATER ANIMAL CONTROL BOARD DANGEROUS DOG HEARING Case#09090366 November 11,2009 @ 6:00 P.M. City Hall Conference Room MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Chairwoman Donna Wagner called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Edgewater City Hall Conference Room. ROLL CALL Members present were: Donna Wagner, Jamie Young, Karen Mason, Dr. Vanis and Mary Wenderoth. Also present was: Legal Assistant, Robin Matusick, Animal Control Officers, Johnnie Dail and Denis O'Dell, Director of Leisure Services, Jack Corder, and Board Secretary, Barb Kowall. Witnesses present for Marley: Justin Wallschlager of 2628 India Palm Drive, Edgewater, Florida. Witnesses present against Marley: Sylvester, Marie, Brittany and Brianna Taylor of 2515 Juniper Tree Drive, Edgewater, Florida. HEARING All present giving testimony were sworn in. Testimony of Animal Control Officer, Johnnie Dail. Officer Dail stated he responded to the address at Juniper where he met with the victim and took her statement. Brittany stated she was riding her bike down the road with her sister and the dog got out of the truck and ran toward her and bit her. Officer Dail looked at the wound and saw a scratch, not a puncture on her leg. Brittany's mother took her to Bert Fish and Officer Dail went to speak to the owner and get his statement. He stated the owner could not provide proof of rabies and said he had only owned the dog about 3 weeks, which he later found out was not true and the owner had the dog at least 7 months prior. Officer Dail said he told the owner the options he had, and the owner proceeded to sign the surrender form and the dog would be put to sleep. Officer Dail said the owner took the dog to the shelter that same day,but then came back a few days later and wanted the dog back. At this point, Officer Dail approached Jack Corder with the situation and the case was reinvestigated by Officer Denis O'Dell. D.Dog Marley 11/11/2009 1 £00/LOO d 5517# OS:LO ZlOd1SO/LO :Woad Testimony of Animal Control Officer,Denis O'Dell Officer O'Dell stated he went to the victim's house, interviewed her and re-took pictures of her leg, which he said was bruised but not punctured. He said the victim stated she was riding her bike and the dog ran out and bit her. She told him she did not antagonize the dog. Officer O'Dell contacted the owner and restarted all of the paperwork to quarantine the dog at the shelter. He said the dog was given a rabies shot at the shelter and the owner later paid all of the citations and the dog is now at an address on Silver Palm that has a fenced yard. Donna Wagner asked him if the Taylor family has any dogs, and Officer O'Dell said they did and the girl was accustomed to being around animals. Testimony of Justin Wallschlager, (owner) Justin stated he had Marley in the truck with him and the girls were riding right next to the roadway. He got out of the truck with Marley and the dog ran over to Brittany. He stated he did not see the dog bite her and there was no reaction from the girl, and they continued to ride down the street. He stated he should have had the dog on a leash, but does not feel that Marley is dangerous. He said it all happened very quickly and as soon as he called to Marley, the dog came right back to him. Jamie Young asked him why the dog had not been vaccinated and Justin said he didn't have the money and just kept putting it off. He also stated the dog has never been to the vet,but he will be taking him soon. He stated he was ignorant of all of the dog law regulations, but he will not make those mistakes again. Testimony of Brittany Taylor(victim). Brittany said she was riding her bike with her sister and the dog got out of the truck and ran over and attacked her. When asked if the dog was growling or barking, she said no. When asked if she was afraid of the dog, she said yes. She said the dog bit her, not just scratched her. When asked if the dog bothered her sister, she said no. Testimony of Brianna Taylor(sister) Brianna was asked if the dog ran out growling at them or was he just running, and she said he was just running. Asked if she thought the dog may have just run out to play with them, she was not sure. Testimony of Marie Taylor(mother) Marie said Brittany came home and told her what happened and showed her the leg and said she was scared. Marie said they then spoke to the father and he went over to speak to the owner and on returning home, he called the police. She said Animal Control and the Fire Dept. responded. She stated at this point she still didn't know what kind of dog had bitten her daughter, or if the dog had had it's shots. She was advised to take her daughter to Bert Fish,which she did,and was concerned about getting the bill paid. D.Dog Marley 11/11/2009 2 £OO/ZOO d 55t# lg:LO ZLOZ150/LO :woaj Testimony of Sylvester Taylor(father) Mr. Taylor stated he was in the back yard when his wife explained what happened to Brittany. He then left to speak to the owner and returned home and called the police. He stated since the incident happened that Brittany is now afraid to ride down the street on her bicycle. As the testimony of all ended, the Animal Control Board discussed the issues further and determined that they were not able to prove a menacing factor in the dog's behavior. Jamie Young made a Motion to not consider Marley a dangerous dog. Mary Wenderoth Seconded the Motion and it CARRIED 4-0. (Dr. Vanis recused himself due to knowing one of the parties personally.) The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 pm. Minutes submitted by Barb Kowall D.Dog Marley 11/11/2009 3 E00/£00'd SSti# ZS:LO ZIOZ/SO/L0 :woad