Woman chains herself to dog kennel

Amy Fox chained herself to a dog kennel inside the Beatrice Animal Shelter Monday morning.

The Beatrice woman said she decided to take action and protest after her friend’s pit bull was captured last week and had not been returned to its rightful owner because city officials deemed the animal “vicious.”

Tyson, an 11-month old pit bull, was taken to the Beatrice Animal Shelter last week after getting loose and later snapping at a catch pole while the animal control officer attempted to catch it.

According to Fox, the dog didn’t deserve to be treated as a vicious animal.

Fox said she and the dog’s owners had repeatedly asked what the dog had done to deserve such treatment.

“I have requested the police report, I have requested a statement in writing why Tyson is being held and I haven’t heard anything,” Fox said from inside the cage Monday. “I have told several people about it and everyone says ‘oh that’s too bad,’ but they don’t want to do anything about it.”

“I can’t look the other way,” Fox said.

Fox and the dog’s owners, Margarita Osborn and Daniel Hile, said Tyson has never shown aggression.

“I have four kids and he plays with them — he’s never bitten them,” Osborn said, adding the dog often sleeps alongside one of her children.

The Beatrice Police Department responded to a disturbance call at the Beatrice Humane Society Monday morning shortly after Fox chained herself inside the cage in protest.

Officers arrived at approximately 10:30 a.m., just a short time after Fox attempted to chain herself to the kennel. While Fox wrapped a heavy chain around herself and through the kennel, she was unable to lock the chains into place. Fox, and a group of friends, were removed from the property at 10:50 a.m.

The Beatrice Animal Shelter is typically closed for business until 2 p.m. on Monday, but Fox and others say they were let into the building by shelter staff to feed and care for the dog.

Fox also expressed concern that the dog was becoming sick at the animal shelter.

Beatrice Humane Society Executive Director Gina Grone told Fox and the others that the dog was receiving standard care, and might be adjusting to a new diet at the animal shelter.

“We are striving to give the dog the best care we can,” Grone said. “And we are taking safeguards for his safety and the safety of our volunteers and staff.”

Friends of Osborn and Fox also showed support at the animal shelter Monday morning, but urged Fox to bring light to the situation by a more appropriate way.

Jon Reed, who works in animal rescue with pit bulls, said he understood the point Fox was trying to make, but admitted chaining herself into a kennel was not the way to do it.

“I see her point,” he said. “It gets frustrating as a pit bull owner, you never see any of the good stories on it.”

Police Chief Bruce Lang said he didn’t understand the reasoning behind the protest.

“There is a court case about a vicious dog (pending in court), but they disrupted the operations of the shelter,” Lang said. “Why they’re doing this is beyond me, but there is a correct way to go about it.”

City Attorney Tobias Tempelmeyer said the city became involved last week after animal control officer Steve Bragg called officers for assistance to capture a dog-at-large.

“The officer on the scene writes the citation and makes a determination of what is filed or not filed against the individual,” Tempelmeyer said.

Currently, Tyson’s owners, Osborn and Hile, are due in court on April 20 after being cited for dog-at-large and vicious dog.

Until that point, the animal is to be kept at the animal shelter until its fate is decided by the judge, Tempelmeyer said.

“Vicious animals are pounded until the court case,” Tempelmeyer said. The possible penalties range from nothing being done, to a fine, to a fine and euthanization of the animal.

Tempelmeyer said the city rarely deals with a vicious animal complaint in the courts.

“I don’t think I’ve had any more than five vicious dogs in five years,” he said. “I don’t remember there being that many.”

According to an e-mail to the Daily Sun at 1:15 p.m. Monday, Fox said authorities had decided to release Tyson on Tuesday. City officials declined to comment further on the situation.

“Apparently getting in the cage, even without the locks, was enough to turn some heads and open some eyes,” Fox said in her e-mail.

Woman chains herself to dog kennel

 

Cute looking dog, hope this turns out well.

 

Dam i saw the thread name and thought i would be aable to make a bad joke out of it!

hope it works out for the better.

 

Sadly, I would do the same. (Not that my animals would be running freely amongst the neighborhood for the AC to catch) But, No one is taking my dogs.