Pet Responsibility
The AP via ABCNews: Charges Against Texas Dog Owner Unlikely
Milam County Sheriff Charlie West said Monday that he and District Attorney Kerry Spears were unable to conclude that owner Jose Hernandez committed a felony. But West said a misdemeanor citation was possible against Hernandez, who kept the pit bull-Rottweiler mixed-breed dogs in a pen.[...]
"There are no laws that apply," West told the Austin American-Statesman. "We are still looking, but it is going to be hard to make anybody responsible for it."
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Hmm.
News8Austin: Authorities' hands are tied in dog mauling case
The dogs present a unique problem for investigators attempting to pursue criminal charges against their owner. Milam County is a rural area, and there are no laws on the books that cover what happened to Stiles."What I'm incensed about is that somebody needs to be responsible for what happened to this woman," Milam County Sheriff Charlie West said.
[...]
What happened to Stiles in her own front yard has drawn attention to a small community that didn't want it -- putting pressure on authorities to act. County lawmakers say they can't even pass new laws that may stem from the incident.
"Under state law, the commissioners hands are tied. I don't think they have the authority to pass any ordinances or laws," West said.
Copyright ©2005TWEAN News Channel of Austin, L.P. d.b.a. News 8 Austin
I'm sensing a pattern...
The Bryan - College Station Eagle: Dogs that mauled woman euthanized
In order for a dog's owner to be held liable, the burden of proof is placed on the complainant to establish that the dog was vicious or had a natural tendency to be dangerous, and that the owner had knowledge the dog might behave that way, according to the law. In many recent cases where people were killed by dogs in Texas, the deaths have been ruled accidental, and no charges were filed.West said building a criminal case against the dog's owner, Jose Hernandez, who was not at home when his dogs escaped a fenced enclosure, would be difficult. He said no previous reports exist to indicate the dogs - which authorities believe to be at least part pit bull and part rottweiler - were vicious, and there are no laws in Milam County that require dogs to be on a leash.
"We are running into a problem," West said. "We don't have laws in the state or in the county for this. What law did they violate? It's frustrating. I'm not wanting to, per se, hang the dogs' owner, but it's appalling that something like this can happen and no one can be held responsible."
Well, we can certainly be glad Mr. West isn't calling for the lynching of Mr. Hernandez. Three cheers for small victories, I suppose. Knowing "your" sheriff is desperately out to pin the blame and responsibility of what your dogs do to others doesn't quite extend to the death penalty is some consolation.
I think it's somewhat sick to look for The Law to provide guiding moral light, for by doing so it renders otherwise capable and intelligent human beings into cavemen when they realize The Law hasn't yet been extended to [insert human activity here]. The reflexive search for laws, statutes, and ordinances and the subsequent reflexive frustrating sigh when it is discovered that our "representatives" have not yet opined from on high about how to live some specific aspect of our lives sickens me as well. Both add to the cultural inertia that leads to the almost inevitable ratcheting effect of crimping down upon the freedom of others who have done no wrong.
"Our society has become an insane society," [State Rep. Al Edwards, D-Houston] said. "What is it going to take for leadership to say, 'We've got to do something about dogs.' If our society doesn't say that enough is enough, I don't know what we'll do. It's just outrageously sick in my opinion."
Sorry, Mr. Edwards, but "we've got to do something" is fundamentally the wrong way to approach the problem.