Immediate action is needed to increase public safety, victims and a former officer say

Dogs that attacked a Greenville couple and their dog had caused problems before

Walking in a neighborhood or walking with a dog is the most common activity preceding a dog attack

Of 115 complaints in Greenville since 2016, 27% involved pit bulls and 10% involved German shepherds

It's been more than a month since Beth Storm and her husband were attacked by two pit bulls. They were out for a leisurely walk in Greenville with their daughter's dog, Max, when two pit bulls broke free from a backyard fence and came charging at the couple.

The dog Max was killed. Beth Storm suffered a bite to her arm, and her husband injured his hand.

The couple has since recovered from their injuries, but the pain and panic is still fresh in their memory.

"It's a slow process," Beth Storm said. "I cry at the drop of a hat. I look at a picture of Max and start crying. I can’t leave house and see another dog, because my pulse goes up, and I’m stressed and afraid."

City officials say they are reviewing ordinances and animal control policies in the wake of the attack.

Immediate action is needed, according to victims and a former animal control officer who want the city's ordinance changed to make it easier for officers charge pet owners.

The city handled 115 animal control calls between 2016 and March 14 this year, according to calls for service records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. As of March 14, there were 13 animal-related complaints this year compared to seven by the same time last year.

The owner of the pit bulls that attacked the Storms, Clifton Ray Gash, was cited for animal nuisance and animals running at large. He was ordered to pay a fine, and he voluntarily surrendered his two dogs along with two others that were at his house. They were all euthanized, according to Bob Mihalic, a spokesman for Greenville County government officials.

Dogs that attacked Greenville couple had caused problems before

The county euthanized 55 dogs between January 2018 and February, Mihalic said. Those cases stem from bites that either led them to be quarantined by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control or bites that occurred after the dogs were quarantined for other reasons, he said.

The dogs at Trescott Street had not been previously deemed vicious before the attack even though police had been called out to the street for reported issues with them several times in the past year, according to records of calls for service obtained from the Greenville Police Department.

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"I can't charge him with vicious animal because the way the ordinance is written I can only 'deem' them vicious and then they have to comply with this ordinance on how to maintain them," said former Greenville animal control officer Joanne Smythe. "Then if they violate that, I can charge him with vicious animal, and they go to court and the judge takes over."

A vicious animal in Greenville is defined as having a propensity or inclination to attack humans or other domestic pets unprovoked and must have already attacked a human or domestic animal without provocation, according to the ordinance.

After an animal is deemed vicious, the owner has five days to erect a pen and post warnings on the enclosure. If an officer returns to a home after that period, an owner can receive a vicious animal violation.

Smythe handled the Trescott Street call March 14. It was one of her last before her retirement in April.

Five out of the six calls to 3 Trescott Street since the beginning of 2018 were in reference to animal complaints for Gash's dogs, according to police records.

Alison Lowry, the Storms' daughter and Max's owner, said the family has met with city leaders and are pushing to make improvements. She said the small fine isn't strong enough to make an impact in cases involving serious injuries or times when other animals are killed.

Dogs in Greenville are not automatically euthanized in attack cases even when they injure someone or kill another animal, according to city ordinance.

Smythe said the city's animal control ordinances should be stronger. She said animal control officers can charge someone only with having a nuisance animal even if their dog is involved in a vicious attack. For a dog owner to receive a vicious animal charge, the dog must have already been "deemed" vicious from a prior incident, according to Smythe and the city's animal control ordinance.

Smythe said officers should have the ability to charge someone with having a vicious animal in an attack case without having to first go through the process of deeming them vicious. Then the owner can be sent directly to court and a judge can decide whether to impose a $1,000 fine and determine whether to seize the dog.

The problem with that current ordinance, Smythe and victims of dogs attacks said, is that after an animal has already been in an aggressive incident, they're still able to stay at the home and potentially attack again if the owner fails to comply with the safety measures.

"You should be able to have that option, when a dog has savagely attacked somebody, to charge them with vicious animal instead of having to deem them vicious," Smythe told The Greenville News following her retirement. "It seems like sort of a roundabout way to get where you need to be."

If someone is charged with vicious animal, the officer can send that dog owner to court right away to face a judge. The judge can then decide whether the owner can keep the animal.

Dog attack took place near the Swamp Rabbit Trail in Greenville

The March 14 attack took place near Greenville's downtown U.S. Post Office and is not far from the Swamp Rabbit Trail.

"My parents were trying to find a quiet cut-through to the Swamp Rabbit Trail," Lowry said. "We know this could have been so much worse, but it's revealed to us a need for better enforcement."

Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle has been in contact with the Storm family along with the police department and city attorneys. She said the city is reviewing animal control ordinances from other cities to see what Greenville can adopt for its own.

"Obviously, we were extremely concerned and wanted to hear how her mother was doing and father was doing," Doyle said. "It's of our utmost concern that the public is protected, and we certainly don’t want this to happen again."

Some neighbors claim the dogs on Trescott Street were nuisances long before the March attack, prompting concerns of why something couldn't have been done sooner.

Claire Whitlinger, a neighbor, said she was attacked last winter when she was out walking and one of the dogs got loose, came up to her and bit into her scarf, pulling her down.

She said she called police and a patrol officer came out to check on her but watered-down her complaint and didn't take her seriously. The dog had been restrained with a collar and chains in the neighbor's back yard when the dog broke free and came off the property.

"All of this raised red flags for me in terms of the seriousness with the Greenville Police Department," she said. "This is very much a family neighborhood."

An incident report from Feb. 11, 2018 states that Whitlinger reported that one of the dogs viciously jumped onto her and had chased another person. The report states that the officer believed that the dog was not vicious at the time police were on scene. The dog owner then was ticketed with having a dog running at large, a minor violation of city ordinance.

"While the dog 'did not appear vicious' when the police arrived, it was vicious minutes earlier. That's one of the things that made the experience so scary. The dog, which I had interacted with before and understood to be friendly, just flipped and started biting at my neck," Whitlinger said. "I was even more concerned that the police released the dog back into the owner's custody before changes had been made to the property."

City ordinance prohibits dogs from being chained up outside and requires owners to have fenced-in cages for them if outside for extended periods of time.

Smythe said animal control had been to the Trescott Street home in the past to issue notices to get the owner to comply with measures such as having properly secured enclosures. There was back-and-forth between officials and the dog owner several times, she said.

"There are dogs that are not fed for weeks on end; then they are slipping out of their collars," Whitlinger said. "Now you have hungry dogs roaming the streets."

The city's two animal control officers work day shifts. Patrol supervisors have discretion in the evenings on whether to call in one of the animal control officers after hours to handle an animal call if need be, said Smythe. At times, patrol officers handle the calls themselves, she said.

Greenville's animal control ordinances 'need to be looked at'

Out of the 115 animal complaints since 2016, 27% involved pit bulls, the most common known breed involved in complaints. German Shepherds were second highest at 10%.

The majority of dog bite cases involved dogs running at large. Walking or walking another dog was the most common activity among people who were attacked in that time frame.

Smythe said there are times when animal complaint calls and patrolling is a lot for two officers to shoulder on their own.

"When it's real busy, yeah, we could use another one, of course," Smythe said.

After Smythe retired in April, the city hired a new animal control officer to keep staffing at two officers.

Whitlinger said she wants to see the city put more emphasis on animal code compliance and enforcement.

"My sense is that the workload is way more than they could handle," Whitlinger said. "What happened to the woman on this street was entirely preventable."

Smythe said now is a good time for the city to revisit the animal control ordinances. She recalls revisiting city laws herself when she came to the department 15 years ago. She looked at other jurisdictions to bring codes in line with relevant issues.

"I do think they should be reevaluated. I don’t think they’d been looked at in 15 years," she said. "You hope things like that don't happen in the future."

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