With the news that another child has been killed by wild dogs, animal control departments are again reminded to do their duty or face the consequences. This week in Saskatchewan, Canada, a 10 year-old boy was mauled to death on the Canoe Lake Cree Nation. (See article by clicking here.) Here in California, I have a case in the County of Fresno in which a young lady was mauled by wild dogs when she took a Sunday morning walk past her high school.
Authorities are aware of the wild dog problem in many parts of the country, but often do little or nothing about it. In the case I am handling, one of the defenses by the public entities was that they should not be held responsible because they did not own the dogs! Clearly that missed the point, and the judge threw out the defense.
When animal control departments fail to keep our neighborhoods safe, they must be held accountable. These are the people who will prosecute you criminally if you try to trap or kill any of these dangerous dogs. If they are going to claim a monopoly on controlling the dangerous dog problem, then they better do their job or else bear the full cost of the injuries and damages that can result.
