A pit bull mauled a neighbor’s dog to death in north Gilroy
early May 22 after breaking through a fence that separated the
neighbors’ properties.
A pit bull mauled a neighbor’s dog to death in north Gilroy early May 22 after breaking through a fence that separated the neighbors’ properties.
Peanut, a female pug, appears to have died after the pit bull bit its jugular vein, owner Julie Geraci said. The fence between the pit bull owner’s property on the 900 block of Bosco Lane and Geraci’s home was under repair, and the pit bull had to break through cinder blocks and fence boards to attack the pug, Geraci said. Police ultimately took possession May 22 of the pit bull, which was euthanized in an animal shelter Tuesday.
“People have got to get their facts straight about these animals,” Geraci said this week. “I know they’re rampant in Gilroy.”
Police received a call about 5:56 p.m. from a neighbor who heard what sounded like “dogs fighting” and who looked over a fence to see a pit-bull-type dog attacking a pug, Sgt. Wes Stanford said.
Police determined the pit bull was considered a “Level Three” dangerous dog under city code – or “a dog, whether or not confined, that causes the serious injury or death of any person; or a domestic animal” that requires euthanization.
“Unfortunately, the pug was killed in (her) own back yard,” Stanford said.
Geraci said she had known that her neighbor had a female pit bull and puppies but did not realize he had a male dog. She said her neighbor appeared to be breeding pit bulls.
Neighbors helped rescue a pug puppy named Daisy that Geraci owned from the pit bull.
One next-door neighbor jumped on top of an air conditioning unit with a pipe while another rescued Daisy, Geraci said.
In the past, Geraci said her dogs and her neighbor’s dogs had barked at each other but had no other interactions.
The owner of the pit bull said the dog had no history of aggression, and there was no indication of past police response to that dog, Stanford said. However, the pit bull was unlicensed, he said. It was unclear as of Wednesday whether the owner of the pit bull would face any additional penalties.
Geraci said she had called police a few months ago about the owner’s female pit bull after it had gotten loose.
She said the pit bull’s owner showed no remorse after the incident. He laughed after animal control officers took her dog, and said next time he would get a larger, meaner dog, she said.
The owner did not appeal police’s designation of the pit bull as a “Level 3 dangerous dog,” Stanford said.
The pit bull’s owner could not be reached for comment after several unsuccessful attempts to visit him at his home.
Geraci plans to take her neighbor to small claims court over the incident.
She wanted the issue to come to light, particularly after the City Council updated its Animal Control Ordinance this year, stiffening penalties for dangerous dogs.
“I think all dog owners … should know what’s wrong or what’s right,” she said.
