Shon
04-16-2004, 06:55 PM
By David J. Lee
Odessa American
Ending a long feud between the postal service and a pit bull, a municipal court judge on Thursday ordered the dog?s owners to comply with certain regulations by Monday or the dog will be destroyed.
Lucy was declared a ?dangerous dog? on March 9 after a Feb. 6 complaint from postal carrier Lorenzo Marruffo.
While owners Rhonda Smith and Don Benham maintain the dog has never hurt anyone and is not vicious, Judge Denn Whalen said the March 9 declaration already ruled the dog vicious, and the purpose of the hearing was to determine if the dog should be put to sleep.
?She?s a house dog ? we keep her in the house,? Smith said. ?She doesn?t get out that often.?
Animal control officer Randy Carden testified that in a year-long period, animal control had received at least eight calls about Lucy being out, three of which came from the postal service.
?I honestly think she would get out and kill somebody,? Carden told the judge. ?She?s a beautiful dog, but I?m afraid she?ll hurt someone.?
The hearing stemmed from an incident Feb. 6 when Marruffo said Lucy charged at him and placed him in fear of bodily injury.
?I?m always careful in that area,? Marruffo said, adding that he?d had several frightening but non-violent encounters with Lucy before.
?I was walking between 809 and 807, and I was watching carefully for the dog,? he continued. ?I saw her about 10 feet away, and she saw me, too. She took off at me at full gallop. I grabbed my dog spray. It didn?t help. I nearly emptied the whole can. Then Ms. Smith walked out and called the dog. It ran back into the house.?
Smith said she didn?t believe Marruffo was ever in danger.
?She didn?t get within six feet of him,? Smith said. ?I yelled, ?Lucy,? and she stopped and came back in the house.?
Marruffo said if Smith hadn?t called the dog off, he believes he would have been seriously injured.
Carden said he personally believed the dog was dangerous as well.
?We don?t let the victims determine if a dog is vicious,? he said. ?What we?ve seen out there, and from the sworn statements we received, we believe the dog is dangerous.?
Carden said when he went to the house April 8, Lucy tried to charge at him and another animal control officer but changed her mind when Carden and his partner pulled out big sticks.
?She came at us, and it was unprovoked,? he said. ?She saw the sticks, and she took off.?
Smith said when she came out the dog was under the house.
?How can she be vicious, when she?s hiding under the house?? Smith asked.
Under a seizure warrant, Carden then took the dog to animal control, where she?s been ever since.
Benham and Smith, roommates, had received three letters warning that their mail would be cut off if the dog wasn?t contained, Marruffo said.
Benham said he got a post office box in October so Marruffo wouldn?t have to come to the house.
Marruffo said, however, that even after the Feb. 6 incident, he saw the dog outside at least two more times at neighboring houses.
After that, the U.S. Postal Service hadn?t been delivering mail to the 800 block of West 23rd Street for the carrier?s safety, Odessa postmaster Ruben Gonzales said.
Brian Gonzales, Odessa USPS customer service supervisor, said the residents of the 800 block of West 23rd Street didn?t get mail for a 30-day period. They began getting their mail at home on April 9.
?The mail service resumed last Friday when the dog was taken by animal control,? Brian Gonzales said. ?It was a great inconvenience to customers, but they understood. They all got notices that they could pick up their mail at the post office.?
According to law, Whalen said, Smith and Benham have to make certain the dog is restrained at all times ? and Benham said he?s already installed a secure fence. They also have take out a $100,000 liability insurance policy on the animal and buy a $30 ?dangerous dog? tag from animal control.
?Definitely (we?ll do it),? Benham said. ?She?s a lapdog. She barks at everyone, but she?s never bitten anyone.?
Brian Gonzales said postal service employees are gratified at the results of the hearing.
?We?re very pleased with the City of Odessa and animal control,? he said. ?They?ve been very professional. And when we call, their response time is very prompt.?
Ruben Gonzales said the prosecution of Smith and Benham was necessary.
?This is a preventive thing to protect the kids on the block, our customers and our carriers,? the postmaster said.
Odessa American
Ending a long feud between the postal service and a pit bull, a municipal court judge on Thursday ordered the dog?s owners to comply with certain regulations by Monday or the dog will be destroyed.
Lucy was declared a ?dangerous dog? on March 9 after a Feb. 6 complaint from postal carrier Lorenzo Marruffo.
While owners Rhonda Smith and Don Benham maintain the dog has never hurt anyone and is not vicious, Judge Denn Whalen said the March 9 declaration already ruled the dog vicious, and the purpose of the hearing was to determine if the dog should be put to sleep.
?She?s a house dog ? we keep her in the house,? Smith said. ?She doesn?t get out that often.?
Animal control officer Randy Carden testified that in a year-long period, animal control had received at least eight calls about Lucy being out, three of which came from the postal service.
?I honestly think she would get out and kill somebody,? Carden told the judge. ?She?s a beautiful dog, but I?m afraid she?ll hurt someone.?
The hearing stemmed from an incident Feb. 6 when Marruffo said Lucy charged at him and placed him in fear of bodily injury.
?I?m always careful in that area,? Marruffo said, adding that he?d had several frightening but non-violent encounters with Lucy before.
?I was walking between 809 and 807, and I was watching carefully for the dog,? he continued. ?I saw her about 10 feet away, and she saw me, too. She took off at me at full gallop. I grabbed my dog spray. It didn?t help. I nearly emptied the whole can. Then Ms. Smith walked out and called the dog. It ran back into the house.?
Smith said she didn?t believe Marruffo was ever in danger.
?She didn?t get within six feet of him,? Smith said. ?I yelled, ?Lucy,? and she stopped and came back in the house.?
Marruffo said if Smith hadn?t called the dog off, he believes he would have been seriously injured.
Carden said he personally believed the dog was dangerous as well.
?We don?t let the victims determine if a dog is vicious,? he said. ?What we?ve seen out there, and from the sworn statements we received, we believe the dog is dangerous.?
Carden said when he went to the house April 8, Lucy tried to charge at him and another animal control officer but changed her mind when Carden and his partner pulled out big sticks.
?She came at us, and it was unprovoked,? he said. ?She saw the sticks, and she took off.?
Smith said when she came out the dog was under the house.
?How can she be vicious, when she?s hiding under the house?? Smith asked.
Under a seizure warrant, Carden then took the dog to animal control, where she?s been ever since.
Benham and Smith, roommates, had received three letters warning that their mail would be cut off if the dog wasn?t contained, Marruffo said.
Benham said he got a post office box in October so Marruffo wouldn?t have to come to the house.
Marruffo said, however, that even after the Feb. 6 incident, he saw the dog outside at least two more times at neighboring houses.
After that, the U.S. Postal Service hadn?t been delivering mail to the 800 block of West 23rd Street for the carrier?s safety, Odessa postmaster Ruben Gonzales said.
Brian Gonzales, Odessa USPS customer service supervisor, said the residents of the 800 block of West 23rd Street didn?t get mail for a 30-day period. They began getting their mail at home on April 9.
?The mail service resumed last Friday when the dog was taken by animal control,? Brian Gonzales said. ?It was a great inconvenience to customers, but they understood. They all got notices that they could pick up their mail at the post office.?
According to law, Whalen said, Smith and Benham have to make certain the dog is restrained at all times ? and Benham said he?s already installed a secure fence. They also have take out a $100,000 liability insurance policy on the animal and buy a $30 ?dangerous dog? tag from animal control.
?Definitely (we?ll do it),? Benham said. ?She?s a lapdog. She barks at everyone, but she?s never bitten anyone.?
Brian Gonzales said postal service employees are gratified at the results of the hearing.
?We?re very pleased with the City of Odessa and animal control,? he said. ?They?ve been very professional. And when we call, their response time is very prompt.?
Ruben Gonzales said the prosecution of Smith and Benham was necessary.
?This is a preventive thing to protect the kids on the block, our customers and our carriers,? the postmaster said.