Today’s Update
Dogs’ owner is cited for attack on woman
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http://www.svherald.com/content/news/2011/12/15/239364
By Derek Jordan
Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA— The owner of three dogs involved in an attack on a woman east of Sierra Vista on Wednesday has been cited for the incident.
Margaret Montoya, 49, “received citations for Dogs at Large (x3) and Dog Bite (x3) under Arizona Revised Statutes,” Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a statement about the attack released on Thursday.
It was about 11:10 a.m. when the sheriff’s office was advised of the attack taking place in the area of Risner Boulevard and East Central Avenue.
Deputies and animal control officers arrived and found the 60-year-old female victim suffering from head injuries.
“A neighbor at the scene advised that the woman was walking her Australian Shepherd on Risner near Central when three dogs inside a fence in the 100 block of North Central broke out of the yard. The three dogs, two Boxers and one Pit Bull, started attacking the Australian Shepherd and when the woman tried to stop the attack, all three dogs turned on her,” Capas’ statement reads.
Area resident James Corcoran responded to the scene down the street from his home after hearing shouts about dogs attacking someone. Corcoran managed to shoot two of the dogs.
Fry Fire medical personnel treated the woman at the scene before she was transported to the Sierra Vista Regional Health Care Center where she later received 45 staples to close wounds to her head area, Capas stated.
The victim’s dog, an Australia Shepherd, was taken to the Apache Animal Hospital for treatment of multiple bite wounds. The dog has since been taken to the Sierra Vista Animal Shelter, where he will be cared for until the owner is able to care for him again.
The sheriff’s office asks for anyone wishing to donate to the animal shelter to help care for the dog to do so at its location on Highway 90. The three dogs involved in the attack either died from their gunshot wounds, were euthanized at the scene or are scheduled to be euthanized in the coming days, according to Capas.
A friend had to pay $1,000 for a Dog at Large violation. It was a black lab and didn’t harm anyone, and had gone home before animal control arrived. So, this woman’s fine should be $50,000 plus medical expenses for the woman and her dog.