Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280138
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
M.W. Quesenberry, supervisor of Roanoke's animal control officers, said the owner failed to comply with orders to quarantine the animal in a house. The owner and the dog were living with a family in the 2600 block of Garden City Boulevard in Southeast Roanoke.
Quesenberry said animal control received a call Monday that the dog was loose. Animal control officers, who had issued the quarantine order Saturday, picked up the dog about 1 p.m. Monday.
The dog is being kept at the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter.
Officers have not been able to locate the owner since interviewing him Saturday after the dog attacked Justin Loving, of Northeast Roanoke. Quesenberry said he hopes the owner will contact animal control now that the dog has been impounded.
Police said the owner told them Saturday that he was feeding the dog and Justin got too close. Justin was bitten on his face and throat and required stitches.
Tammy Loving, the boy's mother, obtained a possession of dangerous dog warrant against the owner Monday. Loving named the owner as David Hugh Laing.
According to animal control officers, he has no immunization record or license for the 1 1/2-year-old dog.
Loving said she was upset that the dog - whom she was told was named Duchess - was not picked up Saturday.
"It just doesn't make sense to me," she said. "They picked up my neighbor's dog for roaming. They've picked up my cat before. This is a dog that bit a 3-year-old."
Quesenberry said an owner has a right to quarantine an animal at a residence with adequate enclosure, or at a boarding facility.
by CNB