Centralia dog bite victim frustrated; Twin Cities lack resources for dog court
Oct. 27—The Lewis County Dangerous Animal Designation (DAD) board is a volunteer, quasi-judicial system that operates independently from the county's health department in order to give potentially dangerous dogs a fair shake.
Essentially, it's a court for dogs in unincorporated Lewis County. If determined to be dangerous, owners must either euthanize their pet or follow a strict set of guidelines to keep them, including having proof of insurance, an enclosure for the animal and warning signs about the dog.
But Centralia and Chehalis don't have DADs.
On Aug. 26, Laura Riddell, 69, of Centralia, was "attacked by a dog that had jumped its fence in the 1300 block of St. Helens Street," according to previous reporting in The Chronicle's Sirens section. "The woman was significantly injured and was transported to a hospital by ambulance for treatment."
The dog, a lab mix, jumped its fence from one of Riddell's neighbor's yards. The neighbor has since installed a higher fence to prevent the dog from escaping.
More than 25 stitches in her arm and a few months later, Riddell is frustrated with what she feels is a lack of justice. The Centralia Police Department issued a citation to the dog owner for the bite and for not having her dog licensed with the city. But Riddell, citing other instances where she or her friends felt threatened by the same dog, thought her neighbor should face more serious charges.
Under Washington state law, potentially dangerous animals are defined as anything that "chases or approaches a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack," among other traits. The state also has a strict set of rules for keeping dangerous dogs that, if violated, result in gross misdemeanor charges for the owner. In Washington, gross misdemeanors can result in fines of up to $5,000 and/or 364 days in jail, at maximum.
Per the Centralia City Code, "dangerous" dogs found to be at-large will be impounded and euthanized, too, but the owner is only charged $250 subsequently. Similarly, in the City of Chehalis, dog owners found to be in violation of rules for dangerous dogs see an infraction "or a misdemeanor."
"She and her family have had multiple issues with this dog," stated one Centralia community service officer's report. "They believe it (is) dangerous and needed to be taken care of right away."
According to Centralia Commander Andy Caldwell, serving the neighbor two infractions is as harsh as the department is able to be.
"Our officers responded, we did an investigation, now it's in the courts," Caldwell said, later adding, "There is a lot of times where victims want more things done than the law allows us to do. ... We just try to be fair to everybody in the process."
Even with the Lewis County Public Health & Social Services department's scope and size, there is only one humane officer for the entire county. Centralia has its volunteer community service officers serve as animal control, which cities are mandated to have.
Riddell said she still notices feeling "hyper aware" whenever she hears barking dogs now, and has multiple times been in conflict with the dog-owning neighbor.
"I'm almost 70 years old. Why the hell would I go harassing her dog?" Riddell asked.
Besides Riddell's Aug. 26 incident, there have been at least six other entries labeled "vicious dog" in Sirens since April.
