Days ago, a pack of 6 German Shepherds brutally killed Jill Peterson, an 88-year-old woman in Pall Mall, Tennessee. “They dragged her down the yard and all of her clothes were off, her shoes, everything. They tore all of her hair out, the casket can’t be open, it’s like a nightmare,” sister Nina Brown told reporters. (See the article on Fox News Channel's website.)
Ms. Brown also said the same dogs were a known danger throughout the neighborhood, yet the animal control authorities did not take decisive action, even though "the law had been out here several times." (Ibid.)
District Attorney Bryant Dunaway announced that criminal charges against the owner of the dogs are under consideration. If he is smart, he will prosecute for two reasons:
- A person who owns a pack of German Shepards and either allows or suffers them to go at large must face the full brunt of the law if any injuries occur.
- The animal control authorities might be civilly liable for failing to take action against these dogs and, if so, the criminal case will give the county's lawyers a better chance at defending the animal control department and the county itself.
I won a similar case against Knox County, Tennessee and its animal control department several years ago. Authorities contributed to the horrifying death of Jennifer Lowe, a 21-year-old woman, who was killed by vicious pit bulls that were well known to the animal control officers. See Dog Bite Case Against Animal Control Department Brings 6-Figure Settlement.
The fact that this was a pack of German Shepards and not pit bulls must not make people forget that pit bulls are the top killer of people by far. See Pit Bulls: Facts and Figures. Pit bull promoters tell stories about how wonderful their own dogs are, but the truth is found in the numbers, meaning the statistics. Watch my video about this, Dog Bite Statistics, aka Your Dog Is a Liar.
