HOUSTON—Dangerous dogs seriously injure Houston-area residents every year.
Last year, Everett Michael Prater became one of those victims. He said a group of pit bulls came into his yard and attacked his beloved cat, Peanut.
"You just can’t skirt the rules. The more I thought about it, the more I just got angry," Prater said.
He said the dogs bit him as he tried to save his pet. His hands were torn up and his knee was severely injured.
"Peanut and I, she was very close to me. Wherever I went, she was right behind me," Prater said.
He called 911, but Peanut didn’t have a chance.
"After the altercation, two of the dogs were fighting right in the middle of the street. The police said, ‘Just let them fight.’ They wouldn’t get out of the cars, so we just kind of backed up behind the cars and then they put out an emergency call to the animal control," Prater said.
The pit bulls belonged to Prater’s neighbor. At a hearing a few days later, Judge Kent Adams ordered three of the dogs to be put down. The neighbor was allowed to keep the other two, but the animals had to be registered as dangerous dogs.
"I always tell people nobody loves dogs more than I do, but I tell you what, I would not have a dog in the city. That’s all there is to it, because of the liability," Adams said.
Once a judge determines a dog to be dangerous, the owners have 15 days to appeal and 30 days to comply.
Owners of dangerous dogs are required to follow a set of regulations, including registering with the county, posting a "beware of dog" sign, obtaining $100,000 in liability insurance, implanting a microchip in the dog, vaccinating the dog against rabies and keeping the dog in a secured and locked area at all times.
"Then that dog, if it creates some serious bodily injury or death, it can result in the owner being convicted of a felony," Adams said.
And that felony conviction means the owner could go to jail.
"People need to know if they’re going to keep vicious animals, that they are going to be held financially accountable for the damages and injuries caused by those animals," Prater’s attorney, Rodney Merwin, said.
Prater has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the pit bulls that injured him and killed Peanut.
And he’s not alone. While sifting through civil court documents, 11 News found dozens of Harris County dog attack victims who are currently suing dog owners.
One of the lawsuits involved an attack in which a 2-year-old girl was bitten in the face. Doctors said she’ll need cosmetic surgery when she gets older.
According to dogsbite.org, 19 different dog breeds contributed to 88 fatalities in America from January 2006 through December of 2008.
Pit bulls accounted for 59 percent of those deaths.
Adams said while dangerous dog laws are tough, more needs to be done to put owners on notice.
"I know it sounds cruel, but if you saw the number of injuries that we have and you read in the paper the number of deaths that you have from dogs, it’s not a particular breed. My only death case I’ve had in here is from my favorite dog, a yellow Labrador," Adams said.
And unlike many of the other cases, the Labrador in question didn’t even bite his victim – he literally scared the man to death.
