A Leadville pit bull accused in three separate attacks has been freed, prompting a county judge to warn one alleged victim that she should protect herself and her dog “with pepper spray or a .357 magnum.”
“These are very brutal attacks by these pit bulls,” said Stacy Kelly, whose German shepherd was bitten repeatedly in a mid-September confrontation during which she wrenched her knee fending off the dog. “Somebody’s dog is going to get killed, or somebody is going to get killed.”
But Lake County ordinances don’t provide for holding vicious dogs beyond a 10-day quarantine. The dog can be released sooner if the owner produces vaccination records.
“We tried to get it held,” sheriff’s Lt. Amy Reyes said. “We just don’t have any legal recourse to hold it longer.”
Even the pit bull’s owner, 19-year-old David Lykins, said he was puzzled to get his dog back from the animal pound after the third attack last month, but he conceded that the dog likely will have to be euthanized for its transgressions.
“I don’t think the judge is going to let me keep him,” he said. “I think it’s pretty much an open-and-shut case.”
Still, he’s considering his options and trying to persuade Judge Wayne Patton to spare the life of the 2-year-old pit bull, Joker, which repeatedly has jumped the high chain-link fence when other dogs have passed by.
“I (just) spent almost $200 on an electric fence and I told the courts and the DA that … but they told me there’s no way I’m going to be able to save him,” he said.
Meanwhile, prosecutors trying to get a judge to order the dog destroyed under a state law are considering filing a motion to impound the dog until the arraignment on Jan. 22.
Kelly, who tore the meniscus, or cartilage, in her knee in the attack, told the judge she no longer felt safe in her neighborhood, prompting his comment about carrying pepper spray or a gun.
Becky Newell’s Australian shepherd, Frisbee, was attacked Nov. 26. “It was completely without provocation,” Newell said, recounting how an afternoon stroll turned into horror.
Frisbee required $667.42 in surgery and stitches but now is on the mend, Newell said.
Both she and Kelly said they would like to be reimbursed for their expenses and contend that Joker needs to be put down.
Lykins said Joker has never bitten a human, but he has trouble with strange dogs.
“I understand they have a right to walk their dog,” he said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about walking their dog, especially if their dog is on a leash.”
