City Council upholds dangerous animal order

MT. PLEASANT — Mt. Pleasant resident Jason Conrad will need to remove his family dog from city limits after the city council voted to affirm a Dangerous Animal Order concerning the pet.

“The police department have declared this a vicious animal and it is our job to decide to hold up that order,” Mayor Steve Brimhall explained.

According to a statement made by Mt. Pleasant Police Officer Brad Gillis at the city council meeting on Wednesday, July 26, the Dangerous Animal Order was issued in response to a report of a dog bite to a mail carrier on June 24.

Gillis stated that he responded to the residence of the incident when the call came in at approximately 12:15 p.m. and Ryan Pilling responded to the hospital where the mail carrier was at the time.

“When I arrived there, the dog would have been contained inside of the bathroom,” Gillis said. “…[Conrad] explained to me that the dog is normally in a backyard of the residence at this time. On this day the inside door of the residence was left open for some reason, and the screen door wasn’t latched, so, the dog came out of the unlatched screen door and bit the mail carrier.”

Conrad agreed with the way Gillis described the incident.

Mt. Pleasant’s Municipal Code states that a vicious animal includes “Any animal which is not naturally tame or gentle … a domestic animal which attacks or bites without provocation, or a domestic animal which has demonstrated a propensity to attack or bite, if such propensity is known to the owner, or ought reasonably to be known to the owner, or a domestic animal which has known tendencies as a species to attack or bite.”

Conrad stated that the only part of this definition that he felt described his dog, Romeo, was “capable of afflicting serious injury.”

“The rest of that whole section has nothing that would describe Romeo,” he said. “He’s gone 13 years and even at my old residence would be off the leash running around kids and people of all ages and has never been dangerous towards kids or anybody.”

Conrad shared photos of Romeo with kids and words from friends and family describing Romeo as “a gentle giant” and “teddy bear” with the council.

“We didn’t shut the inside door,” Conrad said. “I just want to make it clear that, that’s not how this animal usually is.”

Further explanation from Conrad stated Romeo was likely under stress due to a recent move.

When Brimhall asked Conrad if he had seen photos of the injuries Police Chief Lyle Murray delivered a copy to him.

“The pictures don’t look very good to me,” Brimhall said. “I think that the mail carrier is basically still afraid to deliver mail there almost and I sympathize with her.”

The council voted unanimously to affirm the police department’s declaration that the dog was a vicious animal.

“Basically, what you heard, Jason, is they've determined it to be a dangerous animal, and they want it out of town as soon as possible,” Brimhall explained.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com