A woman walking her dog this past Saturday, February 7, 2009, in Salt Lake City, Utah, was outraged when two loose pit bulls attacked her sheepdog. According to KSL News, the woman, Kim Cawdery, had let her dog run free in Herman Franks Park when two pit bulls jumped it, viciously biting and mauling it. Following the attack, she brought her wounded dog to local animal hospital, where they performed surgery to treat the severe wounds the dog had received. The owner of the bit bulls received a citation.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
Now Cawdery is launching a flyer campaign to raise awareness of the issue and is calling for a complete ban on pit bull dogs in Salt Lake City. On the flyer she is circulating, she is including before and after pictures of her dog, which are pretty gruesome. She told the media: “Hopefully, Coco got hurt for a reason, and that we can prevent a child getting hurt.”
Her proposal to ban pit bulls to reduce the incidence of dog bites of children in Salt Lake City is not without criticism. Representatives of the Utah Animal Adoption Center say that pit bull dogs are no more likely to attack than other breed of dogs and that many pit bull dogs are actually quite docile and good with kids. The representative did admit that pit bulls have stronger jaws and are more tenacious when they attack. She added that while not all pit bulls are dangerous, their owners should not let a pit bull – or any dog for that matter – roam free in an off-leash park if their dog has kind of vicious propensity.
In Utah, there is strict liability on the part of dog owners when their dog bites or attacks a person, or because of the dog’s menacing nature, causes someone to become injured in trying to get away from a threatening dog. In Utah, it isn’t even necessary that the dog owner have notice that their dog might bite, as is the case in other states where they have a “one free bite” rule.
In the meantime, parents of young children may wish to think twice about visiting Herman Franks Park, located near 700 East and 1300 South in Salt Lake, with their children since it is almost impossible to know when a dog is going to decide to attack or bite.
The author, Ron Kramer, is a personal injury attorney practicing in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah Counties.
Published by: Ron Kramer
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