Violent young Lewis County dog declared dangerous after multiple attacks near Elbe

A 2-year-old dog was recently referred to the Lewis County Dangerous Animals Designation (DAD) Board after three individuals were bitten amid rumors of more unreported violence by the canine.

Board members on Tuesday declared the black and white pitbull mix named Donomo dangerous within minutes of the start of the hearing after the owner of the dog failed to appear despite receiving notice of the hearing and being served a subpoena summoning him for the proceedings.

Owners of an animal designated as “dangerous” in Lewis County must adhere to certain criteria in order to keep their dog, including paying a fee to the county and ensuring that the animal cannot escape its home property or cause harm to individuals or property. If an owner does not comply, a dog may be seized and “destroyed.”

According to records submitted to the DAD board, the dog Donomo has at least three reports of biting locals passing by the trailer park where the dog and his owner, Ernest Gugger, live. The first report was filed toward the end of June.

Lewis County Community Service Officer David Sims responded to a call from Arbor Health Morton Hospital after the facility reported a dog bite victim. While Sims was unable to reach the victim over the phone, he was able to locate the victim in person in the hospital and question the middle-aged man about the wounds he suffered from the dog bite. The man reported that he had been walking with his own dog by the Elbe bridge when his dog was attacked by a black and white dog he called Domino. It was later identified as the dog called Donomo.

According to the report, the bite victim knew the owner of the dog and claimed the man responded to the attack. The bite victim reported that he suffered bite wounds from Donomo while trying to separate the two dogs.

The victim's dog was later taken to a local vet to be treated for its injuries while the man was admitted to the hospital. The man received stitches to close up a “severe laceration” to his inner right forearm, puncture wounds on the top of the same forearm and a deep laceration to his right pinky finger.

According to a report written by Sims, he made multiple attempts to contact Gugger, the owner of the dog, but was unsuccessful until finally reaching the man by phone more than two weeks after the incident. Gugger claimed at the time that both he and the bite victim had been bit trying to break up the dogs.

During the phone call, Sims notified Gugger that his dog would be registered as a potentially dangerous animal in Lewis County and could be declared officially dangerous if another incident was reported.

“I explained to Ernest that Donomo’s behavior of acting in an aggressive and menacing fashion attacking and causing injury … meets the criteria for a potentially dangerous animal per Lewis County code,” reads the report signed by Sims. “As such, I will be issuing a potentially dangerous animal notification.”

Roughly a month after concluding the first report involving the dog Donomo and owner Gugger, Sims responded to a request for assistance from a member of the Washington State Patrol. Trooper Simon Hovinghoff referred a case of a dog bite to Sims. The dog bite happened in the same area as the previous incident, along state Route 7 near the Elbe bridge, and involved a black and white dog.

According to the report submitted to the county and filed originally by Hovinghoff, the black and white dog, which was later confirmed to be Donomo, had stopped traffic by standing in the middle of the road and refusing to move. The bite victim from the incident was riding a motorcycle at the time and was attacked by the dog after approaching the stopped cars. He claims the dog began attacking him, biting him on the leg and forcing him off of his motorcycle.

The victim claims to have been bitten multiple times but said his riding leathers stopped all but one of the bites from breaking the skin. Two photos submitted to the county show shallow puncture wounds to a man's thigh as well as bite marks to a set of leather chaps, all reportedly inflicted by Donomo.

Finally, a third and final report was filed Sept. 30 after the case of Donomo had already been referred to the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In the final report, a victim claims to have been walking by the same site along state Route 7 going home from the Elbe store when a black and white dog came from a nearby trailer park and bit him on the calf, not leaving a mark as he managed to kick the dog away and the driver of a nearby vehicle honked their horn to scare off the dog. The man claims it was the second time he had been bitten by the dog.

Sims reportedly contacted Gugger about the third report of the dog's violence, questioning Gugger about the incident. Gugger, however, was adamant that it couldn't have been Donomo, claiming that he had lost track of the dog weeks earlier while hunting in the woods. Sims reports he informed Gugger that the report would be forwarded to the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and likely lead to a DAD board hearing.