This is a shocking story of which we were unaware until it was pointed out to us today by an alert reader. It seems that back in February, the Pit Bull that attacked and injured three women on a Madison Park sidewalk last summer was declared not dangerous. The dog is therefore allowed to live with its owner inside City limits without restriction. When we last reported on the situation in October, the dog, named Honey, had been declared dangerous by the Director of the Seattle Animal Shelter. As a result of that decision, her owner was required to either euthanize Honey or remove her from Seattle and place her in a secure facility.
Didn't happen.
The successful appeal by the owner of the Director's decision was reported by the Seattle PI this morning. The website's story, actually, is not about Honey, but about another Pit Bull case involving a dog in Magnolia that bit off the lip of its victim. That dog, like Honey, was ordered banished from the City or killed, but the owner has appealed that ruling and apparently may win a reprieve. The fact that Honey's owner was able to appeal and win is cited as a precedent for the Magnolia Pit Bull case.
According to the PI report, at issue is the City's dangerous-animal ordinance, which narrowly defines the term "dangerous." Honey caused injuries to two of her three victims that were sufficient to send them to the Emergency Room. Yet the examiner hearing Honey's appeal found that the injuries were not sufficiently serious to warrant a "dangerous animal" designation for Honey. Hence she is free to be.
Last we heard, Honey was living in West Seattle.
[Upper photo: Honey when captured by Animal Control officers in August. Lower photo: injuries of one of the victim at three weeks after the attack. More background on this story is available here.]
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