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Sue Binkley shows just one of the large wounds on Belle which required stitches. Photo by LC Gross

At-large dog owners will be cited

No matter who appears to be the victim

County codes are designed to protect people and other animals from potential attacks, but what can be done if a dog leaps walls and climbs fences? Rose and Janeane Mancha of Globe found themselves asking this question after their pet was attacked by the same dog a second time in less than a year.

The mother and daughter were pulling down Christmas lights Jan. 2 from their home on Apache Hills Lane, when Janeane walked toward the back of the house with her Yorkiepoo at her heels. Soon after her dog, Shark, and the neighbor’s dog started barking through the fence at each other, she heard whining and yelping.

After being attacked by a neighbor’s dog, Sharky required stitches. Courtesy Photo

Janeane said she ran to save her dog, but the neighbor’s pit bull mix had already bitten the much smaller dog. The injuries (shown in photo) from the bites were so deep that the veterinarian couldn’t sew them up and stapled them instead, Rose said. Although Sharky is on the mend, the Manchas have already had to pay $500 in vet bills, and they’re wondering what will happen the next time their neighbor’s dog is on the loose.

“If they don’t do something this time, what will happen next time?” Rose said. “Will it be a toddler the next time?”

First attack

The first attack by the pit bull mix was outside both partys’ property lines on June 27, 2016. Rose told the Globe Miami Times she was walking her daughter’s dog on a leash when their neighbor’s dog came running toward them. She quickly gathered Shark into her arms, but that did not deter the attacking dog, which sprang at her in an attempt to get at the smaller dog. Another neighbor ran outside with a stick and shooed the pit bull mix away from Rose and her dog.

Rose’s arm was bitten and scratched in the process of the attack, although, according to the Animal Control report, Rose was unsure which dog had done the biting. The reporting officer wrote that the size of the bite led him to believe it was Shark who made the bite. Shark was placed on a 48-hour watch after it was discovered that the other dog did not have up-to-date rabies shots, and Rose went to the hospital, where she received treatment.

According to Rose and Janeane, there was a short fence between the two properties at the time of the first attack, but because of the dog’s aggressive behavior, the Manchas erected a 6-foot wooden fence. Their neighbor also erected additional fencing in an attempt to contain the dog. . . to no avail.

Mary Licano, the attacking dog’s owner, was cited on Jan. 3 for dog at large, and the officer noted that as he wrote the report, her dog was again trying to climb over the fence. “Mary’s grandson grabbed the dog before the dog could get all the way over,” he wrote.

The officer had to return Jan. 18 to cite her again because the wrong court date was listed, and he wrote that Licano had enlarged the fence in the back and planned to put in chicken wire. “She is also chaining the dog up now,” he wrote.

The hearing will be Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. at the county’s Emergency Operations Center conference room.

County Code for Dog at Large

An at-large dog is one that is off its owner’s property and not under “direct control or physical custody or restraint by means of leash, chain, rope or enclosure” by the responsible party, according to the Gila County Animal Control ordinance. Bruce and Sue Binkley of Globe found out the hard way that adherence to the ordinance is crucial no matter who the attacker or the victim is.

On Nov. 1, 2016, Bruce was walking his two dogs, Belle and Pete, in the Pinal Creek bed beneath the bridge near Connie’s when he saw a man with three dogs approaching. He yelled, “stay” and grabbed Belle’s collar. Although the other man yelled orders at his dogs, they continued toward Belle and Bruce, and one grabbed Belle by the neck.

Bruce wrote that he began to kick the dog to get it away from Belle, but the man told him to stop because it would just make the dog “hold on tighter.”

By this time, one of the other dogs had Pete by the leg but let go to join the other two attacking Belle, according to Bruce’s statement. Pablo Salas, the owner of the other three dogs, reported to Animal Control that the five dogs were off leash and began to fight before he could grab his.

Belle was injured on the throat, her right hind leg and on her chest. Vet bills added up to $800, according to the Animal Control report.

All parties were issued citations for dog at large, although the Binkleys wanted more done about the Salas’ dogs. “I stated that this was an unfortunate incident,” Animal Control officer John Castaneda wrote. “The Binkleys wanted me to stress to the owner that his dogs could not run off leash. I told her that I expressed to both parties involved that their animals should never be off their leashes at any time.”

The enforcement agent is allowed to issue citations for any violation of the ordinance.

About Aimee Staten

Aimee Staten has worn several hats over the last few years, but she recently put on one of her more familiar caps after four years of working in nonprofits: That of a journalist. She has 14 years of experience in the news business as a reporter with eight of those years as the managing editor of the Eastern Arizona Courier.

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