Local News
County Hears: Another Vicious Dog Attack
By
Jul 23, 2008, 01:45

In the absence of a leash law in Decatur County, Harold Yates stated he was going to use his own - a .357 magnum, and the hell with 911.

Mr Yates described to Commissioners how 2 vicious bulldogs attacked his granddaughter at Smith Landing last Wednesday.

Harold Yates describes his ordeal

Mr Yates began angry at what happened and the county's response.  Then, as he described the ordeal to Commissioners, you could feel the raw emotion and frustration he felt as he saved his granddaughters life.

You can't fathom what my granddaughter and I went through, he told them.  Until you see it with your own eyes, a child screaming her lungs out, and you are doing everything humanly possible to get the dog off of her, I, I took, "I don't know what I did." he emotionally stated.  "I said Lord help me" and leaned around my granddaughter with the 357 magnum, put the muzzle away from her, and shot the dog.

Mr Chairman, I say to you and the other commissioners here, because of your inaction, I don't have a leg to stand on.  He told them that "As far as I am concerned, this commission is guilty of" 

• Side Stepping your Responsibilities - You have not done anything about implementing a leash law.
   
• Jumping to Conclusions - "You figure when I get through blowing off up here, I'm going to fade away. I will not fade away."
   
• Pushing your Luck - "You sit back... hoping something like this is not going to happen to anybody else and this will just blow away.  I remind you, each of you gentlemen, and whoever the vacant seat belongs to, are going to face the ballot box.  Your luck may play out at that time."

The first dog bite to the 8 year old was almost to the bone and needed 7 stitches.  The additional bites she suffered on her arm required another 11 stitches.  Mr Yates said the emotional effect to his granddaughter is the injury that may never never heal.

Chairman Rich asked County Administrator Tom Patton where things were on the leash law.  In essence, he stated they were working on it.

Commission Response

Commissioner Earl Perry said it had been at least 4 months since they had seen any form of the nuisance ordinance.  Commissioner Perry stated "We have procrastinated and not done anything about it for at least 4 months and that was not the initial time we saw that matter."

Chairman Rich stated the administrators "are in the process of working up an ordinance to deal with just what you are talking about."

Unfortunately the "work in progress" will probably not contain any leash law.  It appears to us the general consensus is believed to be that the overwhelming number of residents in our rural county are opposed to a leash law.

The last action commissioners took on vicious dogs was after an attack on a 5 year old girl on May 25. 
On June 10, Attorney Paul Fryer addressed the Commissioners regarding that attack.  After pointing out the state law, Eddie Alday was named the Animal Control officer in a subsequent meeting.  It should be noted that on Monday, Mr Alday picked up 9 dogs in the county after complaints from county residents.

A term one hears at times is "A sense of urgency" ...