A series of attacks and the Pit Bulls responsible still at large has an entire neighborhood on edge.
VALLEY CENTER: Neighborhood shaken by pit bull attacks
Roaming dogs said to be from nearby Indian reservation
By CHRIS NICHOLS – Staff Writer | Monday, April 13, 2009 5:56 PM PDT ∞
VALLEY CENTER —- A string of recent pit bull attacks has left two other dogs dead, a miniature horse mauled and residents feeling shaken and helpless in Paradise Mountain, an otherwise quiet community east of Valley Center on the edge of the San Pasqual Indian Reservation.
Several neighbors said law enforcement, county animal control and tribal authorities have failed to track down the pit bulls responsible for the attacks despite repeated pleas. They said they’ve provided specific information about where the dogs came from —- just across the reservation line near Sunset Vista Lane.
Pit bulls are among certain breeds of dogs that have been linked to numerous deadly attacks on animals and people nationwide. Some communities have passed laws to either ban them or place more restrictions on owning pit bulls.
County officials say they’ve investigated the Paradise Mountain attacks, but do not have the authority to seize any dogs from the reservation. Tribal officials did not comment for this story, despite repeated requests.
The attacks began Jan. 31 when a pack of four pit bulls dragged Robin Hansen’s miniature horse, Spike, by his face from his corral at about 11 p.m. The dogs ripped the skin off the 15-year-old horse’s muzzle, twisted his spine, dislodged his palate and left numerous puncture wounds on his hind quarters, Hansen said.
Hansen and her husband chased the blood-soaked dogs from their Sunset Vista property in their pickup, she said.
Two months later, the white and brown-spotted horse moves slowly and wheezes considerably. The exposed pink skin above his mouth is still raw.
Domingo Ortega’s Labrador, Negro, and Labrador/German shepherd mix, Burni, did not survive their attacks by what neighbors believe were three of the four same pit bulls. That incident took place in early March, also on Sunset Vista, where Ortega owns an avocado grove.
A full-size horse at a third property on Sunset Vista escaped March 18 with minor injuries after its owners scared the what are believed to be the same pit bulls, said owner Kris Preston.
The pit bulls have not been seen since that date and no new attacks have been reported, officials said. Residents, however, remain on alert, with several now saying they are carrying guns. The safety of people, not just animals, is at stake, they said.
Ortega, who has three children including a 4-month-old daughter, said authorities have been no help.
“I said, ‘What are you guys waiting for? (For) one of them to kill one of my kids?’ Nobody listens to us,” he said, adding he now brings his shotgun to the grove and is ready to use it.
County officials have little authority on the reservation, which is sovereign Indian land, said Lt. Dan DeSousa, spokesman for the San Diego County Department of Animal Services. He added the county has not been given the specific whereabouts of the pit bulls,
Ortega said he told the department the dogs retreated to homes on the reservation, just across his property line.
Even if the dogs are located, DeSousa said, animal control officials cannot enter tribal land to seize them.
“Our hands are tied,” the spokesman said.
DeSousa added that animal control contacted tribal security in February and March to inform them of the attacks.
Several residents said tribal security officials pledged to search for the dogs. They even told them they would shoot any dog not fenced in on the reservation, Hansen said.
The tribal security official who spoke to Hansen, Wehay Quis Quis, said he could not comment about the attacks. A tribal administrator did not return calls for comment.
DeSousa said the county has offered to take the dogs to its shelter if the tribe traps them. The county set humane box traps just off the reservation to try to capture the pit bulls, though none has been caught, DeSousa said. He said he did not know whether tribal authorities set traps on the reservation.
Animal control officers have responded to 20 calls on or near Sunset Vista since January 2008, DeSousa added. Those have been for a variety of problems, from abandoned or neglected animals to rattlesnakes to loose dogs. Some of the loose dogs were pit bulls, DeSousa said.
DeSousa said animal control cannot enforce dog licensing, leash laws or dangerous dog and public nuisance rules on the reservation. They can, however, enforce state animal cruelty and neglect laws on the reservation, he said.
Sheriff’s Lt. Sylvester Washington said animal control, not the Sheriff’s Department, handles dangerous dog calls. Deputies respond to immediate emergencies, not reports about past attacks.
He said residents have a right to shoot dangerous dogs if they present “an immediate threat” to a person or an animal.
“It can’t be a perceived threat,” he noted.
Standing next to Spike on a recent warm and windy morning, Hansen said she sometimes wonders whether she should have put her mauled horse out of its misery. His right leg is crooked. His head, because of the spinal injury, is always down. Drops of blood from the cracked scabs on his muzzle still drip to the ground.
Hansen doesn’t shy away from speaking about her animal and the horrific attack, no matter how hard it is to do.
“I think the more people that know about it, perhaps something will get done,” she said.
