Vicious animals targeted

Houston, TX -- Fannie Pearl Pharms loved to walk, even though friends from her church often offered a ride to her southeast Houston home.

On Nov. 19, 2003, her affinity for walking proved fatal when she was attacked by two pit bulls and a Rottweiler.

"She walked everywhere she went. She loved the outdoors," said the Rev. B.T. Taylor, her former pastor. "Something should be done in our neighborhood where we can enjoy the benefit of nature. There ought to be some kind of protection there."

On Friday, state Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston, announced he plans to draft a bill for next year's legislative session that would provide some type of protection against vicious dogs, pit bulls and Rottweilers in particular.

At the site where Pharms was attacked, Edwards and Pharms' family and friends called for stronger state laws and more enforcement of dangerous animals.

Edwards wants to make it mandatory for owners of certain dog breeds to get ownership training, obtain a permit, carry up to $300,000 liability insurance and face felony criminal charges and stiff fines if their dog attacks someone. Edwards said specific language has not been determined but he plans to work on getting support for a bill during next session.

"A tiger is a tiger and a vicious dog is a vicious dog. We can't take that chance," said Edwards. "If you don't know how to handle it, then you shouldn't have the dog. You can't have vicious dogs out here in the community."

Edwards' proposal received mixed reviews, with some saying legislation targeting specific breeds does not work.

"It is a simplistic knee-jerk reaction to a complex problem," said Nancy Perry, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society of America.

"It creates a false sense of security that they have solved the problem," she said.

The neighborhood where Pharms was attacked has one of the highest number of loose dogs and a low percentage of dogs that are registered, city animal control officials say.

Last fiscal year, city records show 505 dogs from ZIP code 77033 were picked up and euthanized � the highest in any other ZIP code.

In the same year that Pharms died, there were 1,940 dog-bite cases in the city. Of those, 14 occurred in that ZIP code.

So far this fiscal year there have been 857 dog-bite cases and eight are from ZIP code 77033.

Resident Napeoleon Arrington said Pharms had complained about loose dogs.

"She said, 'I'm just tired of these dogs out here. They are giving me a fit,' " Arrington recalled her saying. "I hope on this occasion we'll be able to do something to corral these dogs out here."

Health Department spokeswoman Kathy Barton said city officials welcome any attempt to address the problem. She said, however, a crackdown on certain breeds could disproportionately impact some neighborhoods.

"I think it's problematic. Some neighborhoods have a high density of chows, pit bulls or Rottweilers. You're going to have some neighborhoods highly impacted by legislation," said Barton.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 1979 and 1998 at least 25 breeds of dogs were involved in deadly attacks. Pit-bull-type dogs and Rottweilers were involved in more than half of the deaths where the breed could be identified.

The Humane Society of America says a dog attack that causes serious injury or death is a felony in at least 13 states. And some states have banned certain breeds, according to the society, but some of them later reversed the bans.

Perry, of the Humane Society, doesn't believe breed-specific legislation works.

She said the issue should be addressed on different fronts, including stricter dog-fighting laws, more emphasis on animal sterilization and training pet owners to be more responsible.

In addition to collecting signatures for a petition in support of more laws to regulate animals, Cynthia Pharms wants the owner of the dogs who killed her aunt charged with a crime. She is seeking to have her aunt's case reopened. The death was ruled accidental.

"I don't feel these dogs were normal dogs. They literally ate her," said Pharms. "They ate a human being. We just don't want this to happen to anyone else."