A 33-year-old Chatham man is paying the price for his dog attacking a young woman.
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A 33-year-old Chatham man is paying the price for his dog attacking a young woman.
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Animal Control Services issued a media release late Wednesday afternoon stating the man was fined $ 2,500 and also ordered to pay $ 24,000 in costs after being convicted in court last month.
Benjamin Van Eyk, manager of Animal Control Services, said officers charged the owner, who was not named, with multiple offenses under the Dog Owners’ Liability Act after an attack in late July 2018 in Chatham.
The female victim, who was 22 at the time, suffered “significant injuries” on her arm when the dog owner permitted the attack, he said.
The victim required significant medical care for injuries that have resulted in lifelong complications, Van Eyk said.
This was not the first incident for the dog, he added.
Animal control deals with a handful dog bite calls a month, but Van Eyk said, but rarely ones of this severity.
“Ones of this magnitude and take this long to go through the court system and result in this much of a penalty are exceedingly rare,” he said.
He noted this is the largest financial penalty the local animal control has seen through a court order for a dog bite case. The costs included both medical care and expenses for boarding the dog during the court process, he added.
Van Eyk said the case is a reminder for dog owners to keep their pets under control.
“We do take it seriously,” he said of dog bite investigations. “People can get permanent injuries and it can be life-altering for them.”