Dog Attacks Spur Action: Stricter Dog Laws Proposed
www.thecarolinachannel.com
May 3, 2005 GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Beth Padgett can still see where a Rottweiler bit her while she walked her dogs last week. "You can see every tooth in the dog's mouth," she said, pointing to her arm.
She's still moving slowly because of another bite on her leg, and her finger will require surgery. "It was the most frightening thing I've ever endured in my life," Padgett said.
She said the final insult was that the dog was returned to its home before she got home from the emergency room. "I go by the house and the dog is in the pen, and I am just outraged," Padgett said.
Monday night, a 4-year-old girl died after her family's two Rottweilers attacked her, causing severe head injuries. The family turned the dogs over to the Spartanburg Humane Society, which put the dogs to sleep Tuesday.
Those attacks, among others, are prompting some people to propose new legislation to try to curb the attacks.
Amy Scholtes is drafting legislation to make it illegal to keep any dog on a chain. "I just want to educate the public and let them know the dangers of having a dog on a chain all the time," she said. "A dog that is chained is 2.8 times more likely to attack a person."
Scholtes hopes to name the bill for Isaiah Calandis Smith, a child killed by a chained dog in Spartanburg County last year.
Greenville City Councilman Garry Coulter said that he wants to give the police department the power to seize any dog involved in an attack and send it to the Greenville Humane Society for observation.
Pickens Sen. Larry Martin has introduced a bill that would require authorities to lock up dogs until a judge releases them or court cases are complete.
Padgett said there should be stricter standards for dogs that have the potential to kill.
South Carolina law does not require the dogs be put to sleep if an attack happens on the owner's property.
