Case Details

Cat and kitten intentionally attacked by dog
Mansfield, OH (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Aug 21, 2006
County: Logan
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: 16 year old boy

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

Case ID: 9522
Classification: Mutilation/Torture
Animal: cat
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Police couldn't locate the man who apparently let his dog maul to death a cat and possibly a kitten on the city's near northwest side on the night of Aug 21. But residents said they'd like to see him charged with something. "We will continue to follow up on the investigation. We do have a lead on that," said police Capt. Marijan Grogoza.

Police were called to The Goose drive-through on West Fourth Street near Rowland Avenue after receiving a report that a man walking a doberman pinscher let the dog kill a black cat.

Officers also found a grey tiger kitten with severe injuries to the head and hip area on West Fourth Street, one block to the east of the drive-through. The kitten also died, Grogoza said.

A witness who didn't want his name used said he called 9-1-1 shortly after 7:30 p.m. Monday upon witnessing the attack on the black cat. He was stopped at a traffic light near the drive-through.

"There was a black cat sitting in the parking lot in front of a car," he said. "The cat was just looking at the dog -- the dog was just looking at the cat. If the guy would have just kept on walking, nothing would have happened."

The witness said the dog handler deliberately turned the dog on the cat.

"He let the dog sneak up on it and stalk it, real sleek and slow. He intentionally let him do that," he said.

"The dog reached out and grabbed the cat by its head and whipped it around. That dog flopped that cat around like a rag doll."

The dog dropped the cat from its mouth, then picked it up again from another angle. The man holding the leash was trying to kick the cat out of the dog's mouth.

"I was hoping the dog would turn on him," the witness said. "I knew that cat would die."

The motorist said he called 9-1-1 to get police to the scene, but did not stick around until law officers arrived. He later learned the black cat died.

The witness said he's concerned the dog might someday be walked near a baby carriage, hear a noise, grab and do the same thing to a small child.

"Now that dog has got a good taste of blood," he said.

The witness said he hadn't heard that police found a dead kitten, but wonders if the same dog attacked the second animal.

He said he'd recognize the dog -- a large and muscular brown and red doberman with pointed ears -- "about a mile away."

"I'll see that guy again, and if I do, I'll call police. That dog should be quarantined. He won't be hard to find."

Nichole Hamilton, who works at The Goose, said the young black cat appeared to be a stray and had been hanging around the drive-through parking lot for several weeks.

"I don't even know what it ate. That cat didn't hurt nobody. It would walk through the drive-through," she said.

Hamilton said she didn't see what happened, but that area was full of pedestrians around the time of the incident. One man reported seeing a man pull a dog away from the dead animal, she said.

Employees disposed of the dead black cat before police arrived, so customers would not have to see it, she said.

Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan said late Tuesday afternoon his office had not been contacted in connection with the incident.

Law Director David Remy said a situation like the one described in police reports might lead to an animal cruelty charge if a suspect is caught.

Rilda Burchfield, a Harker Street resident who has been active in neighborhood watch and serves on the city's police review commission, said dogs trained to be vicious are a concern in many neighborhoods.

"It's kind of common knowledge on the street -- if you're a drug dealer, you get a dog and you make it mean," Burchfield said.

That's done to discourage people from breaking into and stealing things from houses where drugs are sold and to slow down any drug enforcement officers who might enter the house, she said.

"A lot of drugs are being sold on Fourth Street right now," she said.

Burchfield said she was returning home from work Monday when she saw a dog in a yard pulling its leash behind, but getting it stuck in bushes.

Because some dogs are vicious, she'd be cautious about approaching.

"If somebody would walk by, you don't know whether that's a mean dog or a docile dog," she said.

Mayor Lydia Reid said she has not heard many complaints at local neighborhood meetings about dogs being mishandled to attack other animals.

But she does hear of incidents where cats have been mistreated by human beings.

The apparent mauling death of two cats "is awful," she said. "There's some vicious people out there."

Case Updates

A 16-year-old boy faces a juvenile charge of cruelty to animals as a result of the death of two cats killed by a Doberman pinscher the boy was walking on West Fourth Street on Aug. 21.

Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan said the dog remains at its home on West Fourth Street. But he said his agency is continuing to investigate the incident to decide whether the animal should be seized from its legal owner, the boy�s father.

Police were called to The Goose drive-through on West Fourth Street Aug. 21, after receiving a 911 call that a male had allowed a red Doberman pinscher he was walking on a leash to kill a black cat.

Officers also found a gray tiger kitten dead of severe injuries to its head, ears and hip, about one block east of The Goose.

Police talked Monday night with both the 16-year-old suspect and his father, while a witness to the incident drove by and identified the boy as the person who allegedly allowed the dog to maul the black cat.

Police reports said the teenager gave a statement in which he denied letting the dog kill a cat, but contradicted himself several times.

�He really was not admitting anything having to do with the cats. But he says he�s the only one that takes the dog for walks,� said Mansfield police Sergeant Jon Ahles.

Police Captain Marijan Grogoza said the animal cruelty charge against the juvenile involves both cats found dead in the area.

�We took the investigation very seriously,� Grogoza said. �Animal cruelty is a symptom of a deeper problem. We are confident that by making an arrest of a juvenile, the court can sort those issues out.�

Police said the boy was charged with the equivalent of a second degree misdemeanor.

Jordan said the boy�s father was cited for failure to obtain a license for the Doberman. Juveniles cannot be legal owners of dogs, because individuals must be 18 or older to obtain dog licenses, he said.

Failure to obtain a dog license is a minor misdemeanor which carries a $95 fine but no jail time, he said.

�When we went out there with the Mansfield Police Department, he (the 37-year-old) had just bought a license. But when the dog attacked the cat, he didn�t have a license,� Jordan said.

The dog warden said one of his deputies is still investigating to determine the circumstances involved in the deaths of the two cats.

�We can only do what the law permits us to do. The only way we can remove the dog from the owner is to file animal cruelty charges against the owner,� he said.

�As far as whether or not the dog was provoked or enticed into attacking the cat, that�s still under investigation. We�re still gathering statements.�
Source: The News-Journal - Aug 30, 2006
Update posted on Aug 30, 2006 - 5:48PM 

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References

Mansfield News Journal - Aug 23, 2006

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