Two pit bulls or a mix of said bread broke free on Sunday morning, June 6th and attacked and killed a family dog on Moorehead St. S.E. The family has three young children. But for the grace of God it was not one of these children or any other human being. Had it been a child, not only would it have been all over our local media, but most likely would have been national news. Yet, not one word of this attack was ever mentioned in our media. An email was sent to the Mayor, City Council and City Administration but it went unanswered and never even acknowledged.
Myself, and some fellow neighbors are quite disturbed by this due to the proliferation of a great number of aggressive dogs here in S.E. We have an alarming number of residents who keep these poor creatures tied to ropes or chains 24/7 when they are outside. Others are caged or confined to small yards. None of these animals appear to have any social interactions with other animals or people, other than when other dogs and people walk by that they see and then they go berserk with barking and an apparent desire or will to attack.
The first and last time I walked my dog down an alley across the street from my house I was startled beyond belief by the sudden charge up to the fence by one of these dogs. I thought at the time, “my God this is dangerous.” Months later a dog broke loose from a home on this alley and attacked another dog owned by the family of the dog that has just been attacked and killed.
My inquires to the police and subsequently to animal control confirmed most of what I had been told from the day of the attack and killing on Moorehead street. The Police Department was most helpful and cooperative in providing confirmation of the attack. They informed me that the owners of the two dogs involved in the attack agreed to turn them over and they were subsequently euthanized.
I would call upon the Mayor and all others in a position to act to protect the citizens of Roanoke to act now, rather than later, to work toward a law or city code revision to make it illegal to tether a dog, and minimums requirements, based on size, for caged dogs. Are you willing to wait for the next attack for a child or human to be mauled, maimed or killed before action is taken? Many States and localities have such laws, why shouldn’t Roanoke?
E. Duane Howard, Roanoke
