Man’s best friend sometimes turns into a vicious animal
By George Robertson
Editor, The Sun

Man’s best friend can sometimes turn into a vicious animal that attacks, bites, mauls and even kills.

Usually it’s the dog’s owner who is to blame, according to Sgt. Roger Conley, commander of the West Valley sheriff’s substation in Sheridan.

"There are a lot of dogs out of control and not trained," Conley said in an interview.

Conley is especially concerned because more dog attacks are occurring in this area.

Tanya Pitt of the Yamhill County Dog Control office holds onto a young pit bull at the county kennel. The breed has a reputation for being violent but dog handlers say they don't deserve it.

"The latest was a 4-year-old boy who was bit on the arm by a dalmation. The boy required major surgery," Conley said.

Ironically, another youngster in the same family was also seriously bitten by a dog.

Conley, who has grandchildren, said he is especially concerned about dogs that bite youngsters.

"There are a lot of innocent kids getting bitten and I don’t like it at all. It represents serious pain and suffering for kids," he said.

Sheridan public works staff clean out the city's water intake system in the South Yamhill River near the bridge. Last week's work required a diver and created a stream for a while along Main Street. Photo by Shelley Harman

Sometimes children provoke a dog attack.

Conley recalled a recent case in which a 10-year-old ordered his dog to attack a 9-year-old. The attack was serious enough to require taking the youngster to the hospital for his wounds.

Dog control deputies offer some explanations why dog bites occur.

"A strong contributing factor is the weather changes," said Janae Saunders, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

"According to our dog control deputies, when the weather changes, an animal’s natural instincts tell him to look for food and shelter. When these things are taken care of an animal has a tendency to exhibit extremely antsy feelings...During this time, things happen that can set the scene for an animal bite," Saunders said.

She listed several things that might excite a dog to attack: a child falls on the animal or tries to play with him or just simply looks him directly in the eyes.

The heaviest dog bite season is spring with August, September and December trailing close behind, Saunders said.

Dog control deputies received 105 dog bite complaints in the county last year.

Of that total 30 were in McMinnville, 20 in Newberg and 5 in Sheridan.

For the first five months this year dog control received 48 bite complaints -- 12 in McMinnville, 7 in Newberg and 6 in Sheridan.

Dog control receives three or four serious bite complaints each year. "It is not uncommon for two of those serious bites to occur in close time proximity of each other, as well as close locations," Saunders said.

Dog bite reports have actually dropped in recent years. There were 200 complaints in 1998 in the county compared to 105 last year.