LONGVIEW — One of two pit bulls that wounded a Longview woman and killed her two small dogs on Oct. 15 had been impounded in 2017 for being at large, but the owner was only given a verbal warning, the Humane Society said this week.
A pit bull named Serenity and a French bulldog were impounded for a day and released to the owner after they were found running loose. Serenity was involved in the recent mauling, but the bulldog was not. However, the bulldog also was impounded after being seen running loose again in August 2019. The owner told The Daily News that someone let the dog out without his authorization.
Cowlitz County Humane Society Executive Director Charmaine Nawrocki said Wednesday the owner was given a verbal warning for both the 2017 and August incidents. In 2017, Serenity had not had a previous offense. And it had been two years since the bulldog had run loose, she explained.
“Most of the time if it’s over a year, two years (between incidents) it may just be a verbal warning,” Nawrocki said Wednesday.
The Daily News is withholding the name of the owner because he has not been charged with a crime, and because he has received threats against his dogs and himself.
In the Oct. 15 attack, 81-year-old Robbins Addition resident Rosalie Maitland suffered a wound to her arm and her two dogs died when they were mauled by Serenity and the other pit bull, named Fenrir. She was walking her dogs when the pit bulls “came out of nowhere” and tore into her dogs on the sidewalk outside her home, she said.
Nawrocki and Maitland clarified Wednesday that Bella, the papillon killed by the pit bulls on Oct. 15, was wearing a leash at the time. Samson, the chihuahua, was not leashed but was under verbal control.
Longview only requires dogs to be under verbal control and near their owners while outside, Nawrocki said. There is no specific requirement dogs be leashed outside of city parks.
The Humane Society served a dangerous dog declaration on the pit bull’s owner last week. Such a declaration requires the owner to pay an annual fee, carry pet insurance, keep warning signs in his property and not allow the dogs out unleashed or without his presence.
The owner told TDN last week he agreed the incident was horrible and he wanted to make amends. He also maintained that it was not clear whose dogs were at fault based on the Humane Society’s report of the events.
