During Monday’s Dangerous Animal Designation (DAD) board hearing, where a group of volunteers serve as judges in quasi-court for dogs, two pitbulls were deemed dangerous for killing animals.
When a dog is ruled dangerous, its owners must keep them secured in an enclosure and comply with various other rules, or euthanize the dog, lest they can face criminal charges.
The first of the two pit bulls, a female, purebred 7-year-old named Zena, reportedly attacked and killed a smaller dog at the Oakview Grange in Centralia on March 11.
The smaller dog, a 12-year-old Yorkshire terrier named “Bindi,” was taken outside to “go potty,” according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s report. Bindi’s owner then “noticed a male “walking two or three dogs on a leash … (so) he immediately picked up Bindi and started walking toward his vehicle.”
Zena, the pit bull, then reportedly “yanked” Bindi from the man’s arms. The owner tried to pick up Zena to stop the attack, he reported, when Zena’s owner, Anastacio Reyna, came over and “controlled” the pit bull.
Reyna, according to the case documents, said Zena had slipped her harness while on her daily walk.
“While inside the residence, Zena seemed excited and began licking and jumping all over me. Mr. Reyna stated Zena … has never done anything like this to a person or another animal. During my contact inside the residence, Zena seemed very friendly,” the deputy wrote in the report. “It should be noted, Mr. Reyna was very apologetic … and feels terrible for the family.”
As defined by Lewis County code, a dangerous animal inflicts severe injury or death on a human, domestic animal or livestock without provocation; or, an animal that has previously been found to be potentially dangerous that again aggressively bites, attacks or endangers the safety of humans or animals.
The DAD board ruled Zena dangerous on Monday. Reyna has ten days from Monday to decide whether Zena will be euthanized or kept in a code-complying enclosure, among other rules.
A male 7-month-old pit bull terrier named Balor was “running around” with a female 3-year-old black lab named Morgana, on a property where they did not live along Lucas Creek Road, north of Onalaska and east of Napavine, according to a report from the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The incident took place in late February. At the property, Balor reportedly attacked and killed two boer goats valued at $500 each. One of the goats’ owners reportedly witnessed the attack, which was also caught on video, and said Morgana was not involved.
Morgana’s owner, Valerie R. Roberts, of Oregon, responded to the scene to take the dogs away. Balor, she said, belonged to her boyfriend, Bryant H. Bowman, who lived on a neighboring property.
While the DAD board did rule Balor to be a “dangerous” dog, one of the board members said Bowman had come into compliance before the hearing took place, keeping the pit bull in a six-sided enclosure and paying for damages to the goats.
“I contacted the suspect dog owner Bryant Bowman by phone who informed me that he knew his dog was guilty and that he had seen the video footage,” Alicia Hornburg, Lewis County Humane Officer. wrote in the case file.
