FAST FACTS:
(Walls, MS 7/27/2010) Keith Thomas says his mother knows all to well about the pit bulls in their Walls neighborhood.
"She came out to check the mail, and the dogs were coming after her and she had to go into the garage to get free," said Thomas about an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago.
It was on the same street just last week where a Walls woman was attacked by pit bulls. The dogs are now at the Desoto County Animal Shelter.
Last Thursday they broke through a closed window and bit a woman and her dog several times.
Larry Houston is the Director at the DeSoto County Animal Shelter. The county has put laws in place to try and prevent attacks like this one from happening. It's called the vicious dog law.
"The tendency to attack while unprovoked or other wise endangers human beings, pets or domestic animals," is what Houston describes as vicious dogs.
Most pit bulls fit under the description of vicious dogs.
The law in DeSoto County requires micro chipping dogs described as vicious as well as having dog owners purchase $300,000 in liability insurance. On top of that, your home must have warning signs and a special enclosure with a wire fence, concrete floor and locked gate.
The dog must be handled by someone over 18 years old and have a muzzle fastened when outside the enclosure.
Houston says although the vicious dog law doesn't stop attacks, it does reduce how frequently they happen.
"They have a tendency to kill, that's what they are breed for, they have one of their instinct in them, I'm not saying that they will do it," said Houston.
The pit bulls from last weeks attack in Walls will likely have to be put down after their owner's court appearance next week.
Houston says most of the cities in DeSoto County have also adopted similar vicious dog ordinances. Some cities with even stricter rules.
- Laws to protect the public against pit bulls hit the books in Desoto County more than six years ago
- Officials there say it has cut down on the amount of attacks
- Loose dogs still a problem
(Walls, MS 7/27/2010) Keith Thomas says his mother knows all to well about the pit bulls in their Walls neighborhood.
"She came out to check the mail, and the dogs were coming after her and she had to go into the garage to get free," said Thomas about an incident that happened a couple of weeks ago.
It was on the same street just last week where a Walls woman was attacked by pit bulls. The dogs are now at the Desoto County Animal Shelter.
Last Thursday they broke through a closed window and bit a woman and her dog several times.
Larry Houston is the Director at the DeSoto County Animal Shelter. The county has put laws in place to try and prevent attacks like this one from happening. It's called the vicious dog law.
"The tendency to attack while unprovoked or other wise endangers human beings, pets or domestic animals," is what Houston describes as vicious dogs.
Most pit bulls fit under the description of vicious dogs.
The law in DeSoto County requires micro chipping dogs described as vicious as well as having dog owners purchase $300,000 in liability insurance. On top of that, your home must have warning signs and a special enclosure with a wire fence, concrete floor and locked gate.
The dog must be handled by someone over 18 years old and have a muzzle fastened when outside the enclosure.
Houston says although the vicious dog law doesn't stop attacks, it does reduce how frequently they happen.
"They have a tendency to kill, that's what they are breed for, they have one of their instinct in them, I'm not saying that they will do it," said Houston.
The pit bulls from last weeks attack in Walls will likely have to be put down after their owner's court appearance next week.
Houston says most of the cities in DeSoto County have also adopted similar vicious dog ordinances. Some cities with even stricter rules.
