Stephens - Smith -

Related Articles RCC holds ceremony to honor heroes of 9/11

LUMBERTON — In the wake of Monday’s fatal attack involving four Rottweilers, the Robeson County Board of Commissioners chairman plans to ask the board to consider a more strict ordinance concerning the control of dogs.

“I’m quite certain that we will discuss it,” Jerry Stephens said Tuesday.

He already has checked with County Manger Ricky Harris and confirmed his belief that the county doesn’t have an ordinance similar to Lumberton’s that dictates how potentially vicious dogs are to be controlled by their owners, Stephens said. He believes Monday’s attack will inspire a desire among the board’s members to address the issue, possibly during the Jan. 7 meeting.

The Rottweilers attacked and killed a 73-year-old woman on Olivet Church Road in Marietta late Monday afternoon. Two children and the dogs’ owner were injured in the attack. Two Robeson County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were responding to the incident were attacked as they got out of their vehicle. The deputies shot and killed all four dogs.

There is no county ordinance regarding the tethering or fencing of dogs, county Health Director Bill Smith said. County law states only that dogs must be under control at all times.

“You could have it by voice command,” Smith said.

If a dog sits on the front porch and never leaves the porch it is considered under control, he said.

“I believe they weren’t under control,” Smith said of the Rottweilers. “They couldn’t have been. They attacked two children as they were getting off a bus.”

The dogs’ bodies were sent to the State Laboratory of Public Health in Raleigh to be tested for rabies. The county could have the results of the tests as early as Wednesday.

“We would get a notice very quickly if it was positive,” Smith said.

The attack has left at least two members of the Olivet Church Road community shocked, and one of them wondering what she can do for the family of the victims.

“I think at this point we’re not really sure what we need to do, but we’re certainly here, and to help them any way we can because they are a part of our community,” said Sandra Oliver, who lives on Olivet Church Road.

Oliver said she heard about the attack on the television news.

“We were aware that there had been an accident, and we’re so sorry about the death in the family,” she said. “These folks have been here as long as I’ve been here, 39 years, and longer than I’ve been here. It’s a wonderful community , and we’re all devastated because we don’t want to lose any of the people in the community.”

Tonya Jordan, an employee of Bud’s Corner convenience store at Marietta Road and N.C. 41, considers all her customers who live on Olivet Church Road family.

“I just hate that the family’s having to go through this,” she said. “It’s got to be unbelievable.”

Now she worries the attack will leave people wary of all dogs.

“I’m just concerned that’s it’s going to make others in the community nervous about other dogs ‘cause we do have dogs that run loose in the community,” Jordan said. “And now people are just going to assume that they could be attacked, and it’s rare that that happens.”

Esta Currier died in Monday’s attack, according to information released by the Sheriff’s Office. The two children, who were Currier’s grandchildren, were taken to McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence, S.C., for treatment of their injuries. They were in stable condition.

The owner of the dogs, Brenda Walters, 56, of the 2200 block of Olivet Church Road, was injured during the attack, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She was treated at Southeastern Regional Medical Center and released. Walters is related to Currier, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The State Bureau or Investigation is assisting the Sheriff’s Office, which is standard when officers use their firearms.

The Lumberton City Council, acting in the wake of a deadly dog attack, voted 5-3 in June 2016 to adopt an ordinance designed to protect the public from breeds of dogs deemed “potentially dangerous.” The policy lists bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American pit bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers as potentially vicious, along with any dogs that have bitten a person or pet without provocation.

Under the ordinance, all potentially vicious dogs must be kept in a pen, a home or on a leash at all times and cannot be left outside on a rope or chain. Pens must have a concrete bottom and, if less than 6 feet tall, must have an enclosed top. Owners of vicious dogs must register their dogs with the Lumberton Police Department for a fee of $25, provide a photograph of the dog and have at least $100,000 in liability insurance.

Stephens https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_Jerry-Stephens-2.jpg Stephens Smith https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_Smith-bill-3.jpg Smith

Two children stable after Monday attack

T.C. Hunter Managing editor

Reach T.C. Hunter by calling 910-816-1974 or via email at [email protected] Staff writer David Bradley contributed to this report.

Reach T.C. Hunter by calling 910-816-1974 or via email at [email protected] Staff writer David Bradley contributed to this report.