Dangerous Cheney dogs caught

City of Cheney and Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services (SCRAPS) officials believe they have resolved a recent spate of attacks on residents’ cats by a pair of dogs roaming free in the Avalon Place/Golden Hills area in the city’s north end.

Four cats have been reported killed in attacks that also include one in late June, with two cats injured and several other residents reporting their cats as missing after being seen chased by the dogs. Most of the attacks occurred between Sept. 12 – 15.

SCRAPS field operations manager Ashley Proszek said the dogs’ owners, who had been identified after previous incidents, took the animals to the Kootenai Humane Society shelter in Hayden, Idaho after the most recent attacks. Cheney City Administrator Mark Schuller said Idaho doesn’t recognize dogs as dangerous unless a person is attacked, whereas under Washington’s RCW 16.08.070, a dog is deemed dangerous if it “kills a domestic animal without provocation while the dog is off the owner’s property.”

Proszek said SCRAPS worked with Kootenai Humane Society to have the dogs returned and deemed dangerous. As of Sept. 27, one dog had been euthanized while the other was being quarantined for 10 days pending final disposition.

“They were both deemed dangerous,” Proszek said.

Both dogs were suspected in a June 22 incident of entering a home on Sunrise Drive in the Golden Hills subdivision and subsequently chasing the owners two cats through the house, eventually killing one in the backyard. Because no one had witnessed the attack, Proszek said there was little the agency could do in response.

“Their rules are the same as for police, you can’t just go and pick them up without evidence,” Schuller said.

The dogs were witnessed chasing a cat in July, allowing SCRAPS to deem them “potentially dangerous.” Proszek said the owners were subsequently contacted, told the designation and provided with options, such as muzzling or construction of special fencing, to contain the dogs or prevent them from further harming animals or people.

“I don’t believe those were implemented,” she added. “They have a tall fence, but the dogs were still getting out.”

Schuller said SCRAPS assigned an officer to the Cheney area after the June attack to investigate incidents. The most recent attacks coincided with the shooting at Freeman High School, and the officer left because she had a child attending there.

The officer who came out to investigate the most recent attacks was not familiar with the previous incidents, resulting in a lack of communication with residents and local law enforcement. These attacks were different, however.

“On the most recent incidents where they were declared dangerous, we had eyewitnesses,” Proszek said.

Proszek said the dog owners will likely face prosecution of some kind, such as a criminal misdemeanor, in Spokane District Court. Schuller added the city needs to make sure the communication with SCRAPS is improved so that the organization is more responsive when problems occur.

“It sounds like other incidents happened but went unreported,” Proszek said. “If something happens, people need to report it (to SCRAPS) because it sounds like this could have been handled earlier.”

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.