Center Point Dog Attack May Prompt Breed Ban Attempt

Updated by Dave Franzman  at 5:30 p.m.

CENTER POINT- A attack by a pit bull dog Wednesday afternoon will apparently prompt an attempt to get that breed of dog banned in Center Point.

Ruby Vandaver, 314 Water Street, said she and her daughter were walking their dog late Wednesday afternoon when a pit bull came from behind an apartment building and attacked their pet Labrador without warning.

“It kind of went around in a circle, I didn’t know who it was going to attack—me or my daughter and it chose my dog,” Vandaver said.

Vandaver said neighbors came running at the commotion and several tried to pry the animals apart.  One person threw water on the pit bull to try and get it to let go.  A neighbor with a legal weapons permit got a handgun from his house and shot the dog in the head. 

The pit bull let go of Vandaver’s pet lab named “Maggie,” but even a gunshot didn’t kill the dog.  Felicia Rupe is a cousin of the woman who had brought the pit bull by her apartment for a visit.

Rupe said “I grabbed an ice pick and chased her (pit bull) into my uncle’s apartment and then we took her in the back and got her in the kennel and she stayed there until they came to put her down.”

Rupe said the pit bull bolted out of a car window before her cousin could attach a leash and launched the attack on the other dog.  The Cedar Valley Humane Society came and administered an injection to put the wounded pit bull to sleep.

Vandaver filed a vicious animal complaint with the city and will go to the next council meeting to raise the issue of banning all pit bulls from the city.

Another pet owner in Center Point agreed something must be done about vicious pets.  But Tiffany Leehey isn’t so sure banning just one dog breed is the answer.

“You’ve got to have control of your dog,” Leehey said adding “…that’s my opinion.  I don’t know about banning them but have control of them.”

Zach Melton, director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society, said studies show a ban of one breed is not effective in controlling animal attacks.  But he also said it is a common community response after an incident like the one in Center Point.

At least three Linn County communities, Alburnett, Springville and Fairfax, do have a ban on pit bulls and pit bull mixed breeds as part of an animal control ordinance.

Vandaver said her pet lab would recover from the injuries.

CENTER POINT- A attack by a pit bull dog in Center Point Wednesday afternoon will apparently prompt an attempt to get that breed of dog banned in that Linn County community.

Ruby Vandaver, 314 Water Street, said she and her daughter were walking their dog late Wednesday afternoon when a pit bull came from behind an apartment building and attacked their pet Labrador.  Vandaveer said a number of people gathered to try to separate the animals.  Nothing was working and the attack continued. Finally, a man who had a weapons permit and a handgun heard the commotion and came out of a house and shot the animal. 

The pit bull did not die from the gunshot wound to the head, but was corralled in a yard.  The Linn County Sheriff’s Office did not have complete reports yet.  But Sheriff Brian Gardner said the dog’s guardian gave permission for the Cedar Valley Humane Society to put the animal down with an injection.  The sheriff said the person at the apartment was not the owner, but was taking care of the animal.

Vandaver said she signed a complaint with the city Thursday morning to get the issue of banning pit bulls on an upcoming Center Point City Council agenda.  Vandaver said her pet Lab needed emergency veterinarian care after the pit bull attack, but will recover.